Paediatric nursing: computer detection of child abuse.

A computerised system which enables the detection of children who regularly attend an accident and emergency department with seemingly trivial injuries is described. The system is linked to the Nottinghamshire Children at Risk register and alerts staff to the possibility of non-accidental injury. Concern about safeguarding the confidentiality of data stored on the computer has been allayed by strict observation of the rules governing accessibility to medical information. Despite experiencing some problems with the system, operators believe it gives them the opportunity to intervene in suspected child abuse cases at an early stage.