02.11.15
Healthcare staff now required to inform police of FGM cases
Doctors, nurses and midwives now have a legal duty to alert the police if they treat a girl who has had female genital mutilation (FGM), the Department of Health has announced.
To support the new duty, it published a range of resources to equip healthcare staff in dealing with cases of FGM – including quick guidance by NHS England and royal colleges, a poster for NHS organisations, training slides, video interviews and patient leaflets.
The department hopes this will make staff in England and Wales aware of their new responsibilities towards girls under 18 who have undergone FGM.
Jane Ellison MP, the public health minister, said: “Healthcare professionals are at the forefront of the fight to end FGM and this new duty is the next step in that fight.
“The tools we are providing will empower NHS staff and support them in strengthening their safeguarding response for our girls who are at risk, and better protect and care for those living with FGM.
“FGM devastates lives, and this government is committed to ending this abusive and illegal practice in a generation here in the UK.”
Although the practice has been illegal in the UK since 1985, it has been estimated that more than 20,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk of FGM in the UK each year. The NHS says that 66,000 women in the UK are living with the consequences of FGM, though the Equality Now charity estimated last year that in fact 137,000 women and girls living in England and Wales have been affected by FGM.
Janet Davies, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing – which helped devise the national guidance – said: “It’s vital that everyone working with girls and young women at risk of FGM knows that it is abuse and are prepared to treat it as such.
“Employers must make sure that healthcare staff have the time and support to familiarise themselves with this guidance and ensure they are aware of their responsibilities.
“Nurses, midwives and other healthcare staff are well placed to help protect women and girls from this deplorable abuse and with clear structures and the right support, they are able to do so.”