The Importance of Health Information in Adoption. How good is our Health Information/Assessment for adopted children?

Transcription

1 The Importance of Health Information in Adoption How good is our Health Information/Assessment for adopted children? February 2011

2 1. INTRODUCTION A survey of adoptive parents who had adopted children through Scottish Adoption between 2007 and QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSE RATE 77 Adoptive Parents were issued with questionnaires, 23 were returned meaning a 30% response rate. The 3 Voluntary Adoption Agencies (St Andrew s Children s Society, St Margaret s Children and Family Care Society and Scottish Adoption) were contacted for feedback and 12 Social Workers responded. 3. SUMMARY OF RESPONSES RECEIVED FROM SERVICE USERS Q1. Did your child have an adoption medical prior to placement? Q2. How helpful was the meeting with the child's Local Authority Medical Advisor?

3 Comments Essential at a crucial time Helped in understanding the past and what the future might bring. Gave more content to the medical report. Gave very good information on possible health implications. Very thorough We had lots of questions which the doctor addressed really well. More information on family/sibling illness/developmental difficulties. Helpful if health reports available prior to meeting the Medical Advisor. Q3. How helpful was the written report on your child? Comments Provided a lot of helpful information, but raised lots of questions which we needed to discuss with a health professional. Developmental Report was useful. Comprehensive information on the birth mother and her pregnancy. Report was very thorough. Easier access to birth parents medical history when parents have not given permission for the child to have a medical. Helpful to have a written record of the meeting and the issues discussed.

4 Q4. How helpful was the discussion you had with the child s Social Worker in understanding the health information and the implications of this? Comments Social Worker knew child well and had prepared information in advance. Social Worker had been well informed. Helped show the children were meeting developmental milestones. Better training for Local Authority Social Workers on issues such as Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. More focus on general development, child s needs and personality. Child s Social Worker being more proactive in getting information from birth families. Q5. How helpful was the discussion with your worker from Scottish Adoption in understanding the health information and the implications of this?

5 Comments Social Worker proactively sought information on our behalf. Communication was excellent and discussion thorough. Advice to think with our heads, not our hearts. Helped clarify some issues and see where we needed more information. More realistic about possible future health risks. Keeping up to date with medical knowledge to improve the quality of information given Q6. Did you have any information gaps in relation to: Child s birth history: YES: 7 NO: 16 Childs birth family history: YES: 18 NO: 5 Child s past medical history: YES: 7 NO: 16 Childs level of functioning YES: 3 NO: 20 and development at the time of placement: Comments Very well informed. Good information from all regarding future health implications and uncertainties. Medical Advisor refreshingly balanced on likely issues and helped us understand worse case scenario. Written information on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Better access to birth family medical history. Training sessions regarding health issues and input from Medical Advisors in Preparation Groups.

6 Key Themes which emerged from Adopters and Social Workers feedback Written medical reports are helpful Adopters value the opportunity to meet with a Medical Advisor - practice varies across Scotland. The Medical Advisor plays a significant role in helping adopters decide whether to proceed. There are often gaps and lack of information regarding the medical histories of birth families. The majority of adopters do feel they have been helped to understand the future health implications for their child. 4. Actions to be taken. Actions to be taken by Scottish Adoption as a result of the findings of this survey: A number of the issues raised relate to the practice of Local Authorities in Scotland. We will therefore seek out opportunities to have direct discussion with our colleagues in local authorities regarding some of the improvement suggestions made. Scottish Adoption will move to a position where there must be a meeting with the Local Authority Medical Adviser or a placement will be unable to proceed. We will work to try and ensure that there is a written record of this meeting. We will review our preparation process to see if there are any improvements we can make in terms of how we cover children s health issues. We will review whether further training is needed in relation to ensuring our own staff retain an up to date knowledge of health issues. Kathryn Scorgie, Practice Manager