The police, health workers and those in social work jobs should have access to paediatricians with child protection experience so they can provide instant advice if there are concerns about a child, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) says.

The call was made in the RCPCH's new set of service standards titled 'Facing the Future: Standards for Paediatric Services'. The standards outline the minimum requirements for the country's general paediatric services, addressing the timeliness of care, the availability of a consultant's input, the grade of doctors who can review and discharge children and the minimum number of doctors needed for a safe rota.

In addition to calling for paediatricians to be available to offer advice to professionals who work alongside children, the report also calls for children who are admitted to a paediatric department with an acute medical problem to be seen by a paediatrician within four hours.

Professor Terence Stephenson, RCPCH president, told Children and Young People Now: "At this time of difficulty in many paediatric services, I am proud of the fact that paediatricians are laying down a maker and setting the standards by which all children and young people should be treated."

"I have no doubt that these standards will help improve the medical care of children," he added.