Children at risk: in the heat of the moment

As the south of England enjoyed an unexpected heat wave, I was forced into confrontation with two middle class and well presented young mothers whose small children were at risk.

At an afternoon outreach clinic, I was running about 10 minutes late and the next patient I was due to see was a 4 year old girl for assessment of possible hearing loss. As I opened the consulting room door to call her in, I was struck by a general commotion in the waiting room. The little girl appeared at my consulting room on her own.

It transpired that her younger brother had been left by mum in the car …