Guidance on Health Assessments for Looked After Children in Scotland

Designated nurse role for looked after children

Assists NHS Boards in fulfilling their responsibilities in accordance with CEL 16 (2009) including;

• Providing expert clinical advice on looked after children to all healthcare staff.
• Working jointly with the Lead Paediatricians in order to undertake evaluations and ensure quality assurance and service
• Providing supervision for those nurses with a role in looked after children including operational responsibility and line management of the dedicated posts.
• Ensuring specialist advice and support is accessible to all staff

Specialist LAC Nurse / LAC Nurse role

• Caseload responsibility for looked after children;
• Ability to include holistic analysis of health chronologies, providing written comprehensive reports detailing implications of information for the child's current and future health and wellbeing.
• Participating in interagency meetings where appropriate (e.g. child protection case conferences, permanency planning meetings

LAC Staff Nurse

• Delegated workload;
• Ability to undertake and review health assessments for looked after children, in stable care placements
• Ability to deliver missed childhood immunisations to looked after children
• Delivery of health education to children who have missed school based health education, taking cognisance of the child's history, including experiencing abuse and neglect

Health Care support worker

• Supports clinics, immunisations, provides simple health education (e.g. hygiene)