When to suspect child maltreatment

This guidance provides a summary of the clinical features associated with maltreatment (alerting features) that may be observed when a child presents to healthcare professionals. Its purpose is to raise awareness and help healthcare professionals who are not specialists in child protection to identify children who may be being maltreated. It does not give healthcare professionals recommendations on how to diagnose, confirm or disprove child maltreatment. Children may present with both physical and psychological symptoms and signs that constitute alerting features of one or more types of maltreatment, and maltreatment may be observed in parent or carerchild interactions.