Editorial: GPs must have a formal child protection role

And it will confirm many of the suspicions that frontline practitioners have about doctors' attitudes towards child protection, which they believe range from disinterest to outright obstruction.

Of course, this antipathy is not completely one-sided. GPs often feel misunderstood and maligned by their colleagues in social care and education.

For instance, while social services staff complain about GPs' lack of attendance at area child protection committee meetings, GPs point out that these meetings often fall at the worst time of the week for them meaning they're unable to attend or must hire a locum.

At the heart of these complex misunderstandings, however, is a simple explanation. While the different parts of the workforce have always operated under different terms and conditions, GPs' working arrangements are a world apart from anyone else's. Local primary care trusts commission GPs to carry out specific services and, consequently, GPs run their surgeries like small businesses.