8.11 Medical and Legal Advice for Adopters |
This chapter was added to the manual in July 2023.
Contents
1. Policy
Manx Care will ensure all medical information will be shared with and reviewed by the Adoption Agency’s Medical Advisor, for the purpose of providing recommendations to the Adoption Panel in respect of prospective adopters and children who have a plan of adoption.
Manx Care will ensure that legal advice is sought in relation to complex matters in adoption.
2. Purpose
This policy is written In accordance with the guidelines within the following:
- Adoption Minimum Standards 2013;
- Adoption Regulations 2003;
- Adoption Panel Process, Adoption Recruitment and Assessment Policy.
3. Introduction
The Panel Chair and Adoption Practice Lead will be responsible for reviewing the Medical Advisor’s recommendation and any health reports in relation to the children on an annual basis, as part of the Panel reviewing process.
The Adoption Practice Lead will be responsible for the decision making in relation to seeking legal advice.
A Medical Advisor is a Doctor with additional knowledge, skills and experience, who is a paediatrician or General Practitioner that has a particular role in assessing the wellbeing of Looked After Children and providing medical advice to Manx Care and the Adoption service, in respect of the health or prospective and approved adopters.
A Legal Advisor is a Doctor who has the knowledge in respect of the Laws around Adoption and will provide any such legal advice to Manx Care or the Adoption Panel.
4. Medical Advice
Please refer to the Adoption Recruitment and Assessment Policy, which sets out the procedure in respect of medical requirements for adopters.
The adopters’ General Practitioner (GP) may withhold information contained in the medical (AH1 Coram BAAF form), if in their opinion disclosing would be likely to cause serious harm to the physical or mental health of the individual or other.
Adoptive parents have no right to see the medical report prepared for adoption purposes, although good practice demands that GP’s should keep their patients informed regarding the content of the medical report.
Once the AH1 has been completed by the GP, it must be returned to the Agency’s Medical Advisor. Please refer to Adult Medicals policy for timescales.
The Medical Advisor will review the contents and will advise the Adoption Agency, via written summary, that:
- There are no medical concerns;
Or any medical concerns that exist are unlikely to prevent the prospective adopter being approved:
- There are medical concerns that require further information or investigation. This could delay the assessment process.
The Supervising Social Worker can request clarity or advice information for the Medical Advisor once the summary had been received.
It the adopters are not happy with the Medical Advisor’s summary, which may prevent them being assessed, they will need to seek a second medical opinion. This updated information will need to be presented at Adoption Panel to make a recommendation with regards to continuing with the assessment process.
Adult medicals will need to be reviewed every two years, up until the Adoption Order is granted.
Adoption medicals for children will need to be reviewed on an annual basis or following a significant change in their health.
5. Legal Advice
All matters that are presented to Adoption Panel will be shared with the Legal Advisor at least seven days before Adoption Panel takes place.
The Legal Advisor should highlight any legal matters that may needs attention to the Panel Advisor, before the Adoption Panel meet.
The Panel Advisor would discuss any Legal advice with the Panel Chair and make a decision as to whether or not the matter should be presented to Adoption Panel. The matter will also be raised with the child’s Social Worker and team manager. If necessary, a new panel date may need to be agreed.
The Legal Adviser may be called upon by the Panel and the staff to advise on legal matters relating to pre and post adoption matters.
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