Category | Description | Example codes |
---|---|---|
Child protection procedures | Codes related to child protection procedures, including for siblings | 13Iv: Subject to child protection plan 9F2: Child at risk — case conference |
Direct references and childrenwho are looked after | Codes directly referring to child maltreatment, including domestic violence and maternal alcohol/drug abuse during pregnancy. Codes related to local authority or foster care or care/supervision order | SN5550: Physical abuse of child 13HP600: Violence between parents V4H300: Emotional abuse of child 13IB: Child in care |
Child at high risk (serious welfare concerns related to parenting or family) | Codes labelling a child as ‘in need’, ‘vulnerable’, or ‘at risk’, referring to a ‘history of’ maltreatment, relating to parental drug or alcohol abuse, or to problems with parenting or the child–parent relationship | 8CM5: Child in need 13If: Child is cause for concern 13IF.11: Vulnerable child 63CA:hv: Mother not managing well ZV61300: Other parent-child problems |
Contact with social care | Codes indicating child is in contact with children’s social care | 8H75: Refer to social worker |
A validation exercise confirmed the specificity of the Read Code list for identifying maltreatment concerns. Three of the 11 GPs looked up the 42 ‘cases’ in their practice identified by the codes (excluding child protection procedure codes and those that referred directly to abuse or neglect). There were no children who had a maltreatment-related code but did not have considered or suspected maltreatment, determined by GP judgement. Of the 42 ‘cases’ from three practices, 40 met thresholds for ‘suspect’ and two for ‘consider’ (see Box 1 for definitions).