Office staff 'could weigh babies'

The matter will be discussed at a meeting next week

Secretaries could take on the role of weighing babies at medical facilities to save money, a union has claimed.

Amicus said proposals for office staff to weigh children at clinics and health centres run by Bexley Care Trust (BCT) in south London were "frightening".

The union said staff must be trained in order to closely observe the child and understand the child protection role.

The BCT said the idea of training staff to assist with weighing babies had been mooted but no decision had been made.

Legal action

A BCT spokeswoman stressed that no firm proposals had been made nor had any decisions been taken with regard to the matter.

The statement read: "Health checks of babies are important in the early part of their development and... the weighing of babies is undertaken by appropriately trained staff.

"There are regular team meetings with community staff.

"During these meetings, amongst other issues, the most effective use of staff skills to ensure a safe and reliable service is discussed."

The union said the proposal would affect babies aged between two weeks and four weeks old.

Amicus and the Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association (CPHVA) said such a move would leave health visitors liable to legal action or being struck off if something went wrong.

Meeting planned

Obi Amadi, of Amicus, said: "It seems that the importance of what really happens when a child is undressed and weighed at a clinic has been lost or forgotten to pander to the desire to cut costs."

He said the role involved specific training in terms of closely observing the child and understanding the child protection role.

"For example, are the bruises on an eight-month-old baby due to the child learning to walk and falling over naturally, or something more sinister?

"This will leave the named health visitor who is responsible for omission or commission.... vulnerable to future litigation," he said.

The matter is due to be discussed at a meeting of lead nurses on 22 February.