The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have published a major new report: ‘From left behind to leading the way: a blueprint for transforming child health services in England’.
This calls on the UK government to commit to restoring health services for children in England. Across seven themes, it sets out a series of detailed and intersectional recommendations. These are intended to act as a guide to the transformational change that is needed across child health services in England.
- Ensuring fair funding for children.
- Prioritising children in Integrated Care Systems.
- Supporting a sustainable child health workforce.
- Improving data and digital.
- Reducing pressure on urgent and emergency care.
- Reinvesting in community health services.
- Improving the interface between primary and secondary care.
Underpinning this is a call for ambitious action on to prevent illness and address the wider determinants of health with a child health in all policies approach. Additionally, there are two core principles in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to further help to improve children and young people’s health:
- 1. Be active in how children and young people’s views are asked for, listened to and acted on (Article 12)
- 2. Do all you can to implement these rights, protecting children and young people from the harm of being overlooked and forgotten in health planning (Article 4, Article 24).
You can read more about the College’s case for change in a four-page quick read or the full report.
The report has been endorsed by the Children and Young People’s Health Policy Influencing Group (HPIG) of which NNPCF is an active member.