Paediatric expert guidelines published

A guide to the use of paediatricians as expert witnesses in the family courts has been published by the Family Justice Council and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Intended as a companion to the generic standards set out in the Family Procedure Rules, it covers the role of the paediatric team when assessing a child with suspected maltreatment, the role of the professional witness, regulation and codes of conduct, competence issues, supervision and peer review and quality of service. The guide ‘Paediatricians as Expert Witnesses in the Family Courts in England and Wales: Standards, competencies and expectations’ can be downloaded from www.judiciary.uk.