Kinship ID Cards for every carer regardless of the legal status
‘Why is there a need for Kinship Unique Identification Cards’
Over 180,000 children are being raised by family or friends of families because their birth parents cannot look after them. Therefore, they are being cared for by Kinship Carers. An ever-increasing number of children are now in Kinship Care. It’s apparent that the system is failing these children and their dedicated Carers because they often struggle to prove to Hospitals, Schools, Doctors, and Dentists that they have Parental Responsibility (PR).
It is frustrating for carers who struggle to register a child in emergency situations because they have forgotten their paperwork, have no proof of their PR, or professionals do not think a piece of paper is sufficient evidence. Below are some examples of children requiring emergency treatment and being withheld treatment until the kinship carer can provide the relevant paperwork to prove their PR. Sometimes, this can take hours, with hospital receptionists calling in Social Services and sometimes having to wait overnight for a response.
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A kinship two-year-old child struggling to breathe was taken to A&E. First question from the receptionist. Who are you, and what is your relationship to this child? Are Social Services involved? The most terrifying answer was the hospital could not treat him without the consent of someone with PR. The hospital called Social Services, and they did not have a record of the child. Hours later, the child was eventually treated after they had established that the Kinship Carer had Parental Responsibility (PR).
A kinship toddler with a severe facial injury requiring plastic surgery was withheld treatment, as the hospital would not treat the child until proof of the legal order was produced. The carer showed an email of the special guardianship order. This was not enough, and Social Services were called to verify the child was in Kinship Care as the carer could not leave the traumatised child. It took two hours for the call to be returned. Finally, the child was treated after losing a lot of blood. However, the injury was so serious that the hospital referred them to a plastic surgery specialist unit an hour away. On arrival, the kinship carer faced the same ordeal; she had to call Social Services again to verify her identity, and the return call took seven and a half hours. Eventually, hours later, the child went into surgery.
A kinship child with a severe break in her arm was taken to A&E by her Kinship Carer; surgery was required, and the anaesthetist refused to administer the anaesthetic without seeing the proof of PR, in this case, a piece of paper being the legal document provided by the court. The child was put on a morphine pump. With paperwork and photo identification in hand, the Kinship Carer had to wait for the anaesthetist to return from his surgery list. Once presented, it was accepted; the long wait after 24 hours was over, and the child had surgery to reset the bones.
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