UK has more guidance on dealing with abandoned cars than abandoned babies, study finds

doi:10.1136/bmj.b3438

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Roger Dobson

¹Abergavenny

Researchers have called for national guidelines in the United Kingdom on how to handle abandoned babies, after they found that only three of 170 NHS organisations have any relevant policies in place.

The authors of the study, from the Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, wrote: “There are currently greater provisions in terms of policies for abandoned vehicles than for babies—a sad state of affairs . . . Overall, there is a vast lack of standardised guidelines for dealing with an abandoned baby …