Just half of hospital staff liaising with community services have specific training in child protection, say experts.
Researchers from St Mary's Hospital in London looked at how healthservices were implementing recommendations from Lord Laming's report onthe death of Victoria Climbie.
Dr Dan Harris, lead researcher, said the difference in child protectionknowledge between services meant cases could be dropped, puttingchildren at risk.
The findings are reported in Archives of Disease and Childhood. They arebased on replies from 122 NHS trusts in England and Wales.
