RCSI HOSPITAL GROUP (CORPORATE) SAFE GUARDING STATEMENT March 2018

The Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI) Hospital Group provides a range of Health Services to, Children across Beaumont, St Joseph’s, Connolly, Rotunda, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitals. There is approximately 9000 staff employed across all these areas.

The safety, welfare and development of Children is a core objective and key priority for all areas in the RCSI Hospital Group. Every staff member has a responsibility and duty of care to ensure that every Child availing of and/or attending our service is safe and protected from harm (physical/emotional/sexual abuse or neglect). All sites have developed and implemented policies and procedures based on Health Service Executive (HSE) policies and procedures to promote safe environments for Children; to mitigate the potential for risk to arise; and to manage it safely where it does. The policies and procedures outlined in this Child Safeguarding Statement apply to all staff across all sites in the RCSI Hospital Group (employees, students, trainees, volunteers, contractors and any person performing any role or function in, or on behalf of, the RCSI Hospital Group).This Child Safeguarding Statement is informed by the following risk assessment.

Risk Assessment

Procedures

All sites in the RCSI Hospital Group have developed Child Safeguarding Statement in line with requirements under the Children First Act 2015, Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, Tusla’s Guidance on Developing a Child Safeguarding Statement, and the HSE Child Protection and Welfare Policy.

Policies and procedures have been developed to promote safe environments for children; to mitigate the potential for risk to arise; and to manage it safely where it does. In addition to the procedures outlined in the risk assessment, the following policies and procedures support our intention to safeguard children availing of any RCSI Hospital Group service:

• Requirement on all sites within the RCSI Hospital Group to ensure the selection and recruitment of all staff who are suitable to work with children including full implementation of the Garda vetting policy.
• Requirement on all sites within the RCSI Hospital Group for all staff to complete the mandatory HSE eLearning module “An Introduction to Children First”.
• Requirement on all sites within the RCSI Hospital Group to fully implement the Trust in Care policy and related procedures and to investigate an allegation made against a staff member.
• Requirement on all sites within the RCSI Hospital Group to fully comply with HSE Child Protection and Welfare Policy outlining the HSE’s reporting procedure.
• Requirement on all sites within the RCSI Hospital Group to Integrate the HSE Risk Management Policy to assess and manage any risk of harm.
• Requirement on all sites within the RCSI Hospital Group to implement the HSE Safety Incident Management policy to inform the site CEO/Master/General Manager of any incident where a child has been harmed whilst availing of the service.
• Requirement on all sites within the RCSI Hospital Group to maintain a list of Mandated Persons in their site/area.
• Requirement on all sites within the RCSI Hospital Group to appoint a relevant person to oversee the assessment of risk and to develop service specific Child Safeguarding Statements.

Implementation

We recognise that implementation is an ongoing process. Our service is committed to the implementation of this Child Safeguarding Statement and the procedures that support our intention to keep children safe from harm while availing of our service. This Child Safeguarding Statement will be reviewed in February 2020 or as soon as practicable and whenever there has been a material change in any matter to which the statement refers.

The relevant site Child Safeguarding Statement will be circulated to all staff members within that relevant site across all sites in the RCSI Hospital Group and each site will display publicly their Child Safeguarding Statement from 31st March 2018. The RCSI Hospital Group Child Safeguarding Statement will be displayed on RCSI Hospital Group website from 31st March 2018. All sites across RCSI Hospital Group will review their Child Safeguarding Statement every two years or sooner if there is any material change in any of the issues to which it refers.