These are not the opening paragraphs we would have wished to write. As we completed the final drafts of this book, news emerged of the abuse and eventual death of another young child. Anna Climbie was known to many of the local agencies responsible for child protection services: social services, the police and the health service. Understandably perhaps, the public again expressed disbelief at the apparent inability of these agencies to respond to the unmistakable signs of physical abuse endured by the little girl. Newspaper reports, and thus public debate, were quick to focus on the perceived failures of the professionals involved.

The response was also swift. The social services department (SSD) concerned was placed under ‘special measures’ and the social work case holder suspended pending an investigation into whether she and four other colleagues were to be disciplined. One of the police officers involved, although still at work, is reportedly facing a disciplinary inquiry and a total of eight officers are likely to be subject to internal investigation. Significantly, however, in the initial reaction to the event at least, relatively little public attention was paid to the role played by National Health Service (NHS) professionals. The actions of none of the health service's personnel who saw Anna in the months before her death, including, allegedly, a hospital paediatrician who considered her sores and marks to be self-inflicted, appear to have been subject to investigation by their agencies or professional associations. Although the formal inquiry has yet to be held, in the mind of the public and the press it is the performance of the social worker and, to an extent, the child protection police officers, that is widely seen to be the source of the problem.

As the 1989 Children Act and subsequent guidance make clear, however, effective child protection is a collective responsibility, involving the participation, to a greater or lesser extent, of a wide range of different agencies and professional groups. The NHS has a particularly important contribution to make to child protection, not least because of the number and diversity of its professional groups and services.