The Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Child health surveillance

6.—(1) A contractor whose contract includes the provision of child health surveillance services shall, in respect of any child under the age of 5 for whom he has responsibility under the contract –

(a) provide all the services described in sub-paragraph (2), other than any examination so described which the parent refuses to allow the child to undergo, until the date upon which the child attains the age of five years; and

(b) maintain such records as are specified in sub-paragraph (3).

(2) The services referred to sub-paragraph (1)(a) are –

(a) the monitoring –

(i) by the consideration of any information concerning the child received by or on behalf of the contractor, and

(ii) on any occasion when the child is examined or observed by or on behalf of the contractor (whether pursuant to head (b) or otherwise),

of the health, well-being and physical, mental and social development (all of which characteristics are referred to in this paragraph as “development”) of the child while under the age of 5 years with a view to detecting any deviations from normal development;

(b) the examination of the child at a frequency that has been agreed with the Board in accordance with the nationally agreed evidence based programme set out in the fourth edition of “Health for all Children”(1).

(3) The records mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(b) are an accurate record of –

(a) the development of the child while under the age of 5 years, compiled as soon as is reasonably practicable following the first examination of that child and, where appropriate, amended following each subsequent examination; and

(b) the responses (if any) to offers made to the child’s parent for the child to undergo any examination referred to in sub-paragraph (2)(b).

(1)

David Hall and David Elliman, January 2003, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-85188-X