Child Safeguarding Statement

Name of Service Provider: Susan Quin Physiotherapy

Nature of Service and Principles to Safeguard Children from harm: 

Susan Quin Physiotherapy provides a range of out-patient Physiotherapy Services to members of the public, including to children under the age of 18 years.  

In accordance with the requirements of the Children First Act 2015, Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017, and Tusla Guidance on the preparation of Child Safeguarding Statements, this practice makes the following Child Safeguarding Statement.

The Practice will: 

Adopt and implement fully Child Protection Procedures set out in the Child Safeguarding Policy 

Appoint a Designated liaison Person (DLP)  – Susan Quin MISCP

Insist that child protection and welfare considerations are reflected in all the practices policies, procedures, practices and activities. In doing so this practice will adhere to the following principles of best practice in Child Protection and Welfare

The Practice will:

Recognise that the protection and welfare of children is of paramount importance, regardless of all other considerations

Fully comply with its statutory obligations under the Children First Act 2015 and other relevant legislation relating to the protection and welfare of children

Fully co-operate with the relevant statutory authorities in relation to child protection and welfare matters

Adopt safe practises to minimise the possibility of harm or accidents happening to children and protect workers from the necessity to take unnecessary risks that may leave themselves open to accusations of abuse or neglec

Develop a practice of transparency and collaboration with parents to encourage parental involvement in the rehabilitation/therapy for their child

Fully respect the confidentiality requirements when dealing with child protection matters

The Practice will adhere to the above principles in relation to any vulnerable person that avails of services.

The following procedures/measures are in place: 

In relation to any member of staff that is the subject of an investigation in respect of any act, omission or circumstance in respect of a child attending the practice, the staff will immediately institute the Disciplinary Policy for staff

The selection or recruitment of staff and their suitability to work with children will depend of their submitting to Garda Vetting – the statutory vetting requirements of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016

The practice will provide information, instruction and training as necessary to staff in respect of the identification of occurrence of harm. To this end it will provide each member of staff with a copy of the Child Safeguarding Statement, Encourage staff to avail of relevant training and maintain a record of all staff training in this regard.

In relation to reporting of child protection concerns to Tusla, all staff are required to adhere to the procedures set out in the Child Safeguarding Policy

In this practice the above named DLP  is the “relevant person” (as defined in the Children First Act 2015) to be the first point of contact in respect of the child safeguarding statement

All Chartered Physiotherapists employed by the persons are mandated persons under the Children First Act 2015

In accordance with the Children First Act 2015, a Risk Assessment of any potential for harm to a child while attending the practice is maintained with control measures for managing any identified risks contained

The various procedures referred to in this Statement can be found in the Child Safeguarding Policy which will be made available on request

This statement is accessible to parents and guardians on request. A copy of this Statement will also be made available to Tusla and / or the Department on request

This Child Safeguarding Statement will be reviewed annually or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which this statement refers

Risk Assessment

We have carried out an assessment of any potential for harm to a child while availing of our services. Below are the risks identified and the list of procedures for managing these risks.

Implementation

We recognise that implementation is an on-going 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 annually, or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which the statement refers.

Susan Quin MISCP PT029012

For queries, please contact Susan Quin MISCP, Relevant Person under the Children First Act 2015.