An independent group of experts has been established to help develop a new strategy for improving care for children and young people.
The ‘Children’s and Young People’s outcomes strategy’ will focus the health service on improving health results for children, including those needing primary, hospital and urgent care, and children with long-term conditions.
It will identify health issues that matter most to children and young people, and how a modern NHS will meet their needs.
To inform the strategy, a group of independent experts from local government, the NHS and charities will hear views from children, parents, carers and wider families as well as health professionals.
The Children’s and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum will be jointly chaired by Professor Ian Lewis, Medical Director at the Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, and Christine Lenehan, Director at the Council for Disabled Children.
Prof Ian Lewis said:
‘This is a welcome opportunity to focus on children and young people in order to ensure that the modernisation of health services work well for them.
‘It’s a genuine chance to make a difference to improve the availability and quality of healthcare provided to them by the NHS. We look forward to working alongside other experts as part of the Children’s and Young People’s Forum.’
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said:
‘Our ambition for the Children’s and Young People’s Health Outcomes Strategy is a simple one – to improve outcomes for children and young people’s health.
‘We will bring together people and resources from across the NHS, social care and wider children’s services to develop a clear set of goals to give all children the right start in life.
‘By intervening early we will be to able to influence patterns of behaviour and can ensure that children and young people get the quality of care, services and support that they deserve.’
The Children’s and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum, which is designed on the NHS Future Forum model, will carry out a three-month period of engagement with appropriate stakeholders before submitting its recommendations to the Government later in the year.
The Forum will build on work already planned through the Health and Wellbeing Board learning network and the SEN and Disability Pathfinder programme.
See list of Children’s and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum members [PDF 32.6KB]
Services for ASD children and young adults are scattered are have arbitrary cut off ages. Across the country there is still a gap between CAMHS and adult services and no apparent recognition that young people with autism need mental health support with no gaps
Experts concerned with mental health of younfg children are under represented on your panel.
We request that a representative from Play Therapy UK – the largest professional organisation in this field is added.
Jeff Thomas – Director of Communications
Jeff – Thanks for your comment and I want to reassure you that children and young people’s mental health is a significant consideration within the development of the Strategy.
The Forum has initially identified four key themes they will be focussing on and mental health is one of them.
In relation to invitations to join the Forum, I should make clear these were based on the individual’s expertise rather than as representatrives of any organisation.
We would very much welcome your input as part of the wide engagement that we and the Forum are comitted to undertaking so that the Strategy’s outputs can make a real difference to the health and well-being of children and young people.
Tommy Denning
Programme Manager
Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Strategy
Please do also include the Paediatric Ophthalmology Sub-committee of The Royal College of Ophthalmologists as a stakeholder in any communications and consultations.
Beth – Thanks for your comment.
We will shortly be publishing details on this website of how people can feed their views into the Strategy’s development and we would very much welcome the participation of you and your colleagues in this.
Tommy Denning
Programme Manager
Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Strategy
I’d like to suggest a stronger safeguarding representation in the membership group as it has to be intrinsic throughout all services, specialisms and agencies/organisations caring for children & YP.
hannah Smith, Designated Nurse – Looked After Children. Calderdale
And what about the Arts?
Time and time again young people demonstrate their eargerness and willingness to engage in consultation, in debate and dialogue. When they are offered creative means via art, drama, dance, music, poetry etc to relay their experience this intensities and makes the important messages they have to share alive, dynamic and heard.
I’d strongly advocate the opportunity to guage opinion and views by instilling creative partipication approaches as core to this new forum.
Stephen Sandford
Consultant Music Therapist
South West London & St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust
It is very disapointing there is no School Nursing represenative on your panel, especially as we are qualified in public health working with children and young people aged 5-19. It is noted you do have a health visiting specialist who’s area of expertise only goes up to age 5.
Please can I ask that serious commitment is given to early intervention and long term resources allocated in dealing with the pandemic of childhood obesity.
Short term interventions are not the answer, we recognise that the NCMP and HCP will identify the issues earlier but require highly skilled health,community and EY practitioners to deliver services to meet the need in Children’s centres.I would like to be pro active within the forum.
Since there is no mention of it above, it will be important to note the work of the NHS Institute in this area. http://www.institute.nhs.uk/safer_care/safer_care/children_and_young_peoples_programmes_of_work.html
I am surprised there are only two GPs and no school nurses on this panel.
There is no representation from regulatory services (trading standards, environemtnal health, licensing). It may be that they do not need to be on the panel, but they do need to be part of the stakehiolder consultation process.
I am extremely concerned to see no school nursing representation on this panel. Given the vast amount of work they do with children and young people aged 5-19 and the forthcoming publication of the school nursing framework I think this is a serious omission.
I am also suprised to see no representation from the Youth Justice System. This was an area highlighted in the Public Health Outcomes Framework.
Can I strongly advocate for the representation of School Nurses on this forum? Their frontline exposure to and therefore first hand knowledge of current health issues for children and young people, not to mention expertise in delivering family centered care should not be overlooked.
Christine Cammell, Senior School Nurse, NZCRN, BHSc, PGC Youth Health. Central London Community Healthcare.
It would be good to also discuss issues re transcultural care (especially in relation to safeguarding) and the ehalth needs of children who come from groups who are excluded (homeless, asylum seekers, migrants, unaccompanied minors)
Public Health Specialist
Family Recovery Project
Chair of Victoiria Climbie Foundation
I am surprised that there is no representation from childrens services and in particular the disabled childrens teams accross the Uk I also think that there needs to be a rep from CAMHS