Children’s and young people’s health
The launch of the Every Child Matters: Change for Children agenda in 2004 put children's and young people's health firmly in the spotlight, emphasising that being healthy is essential if children and young people are to get the best out of life and fulfil their potential. Every Child Matters: Change for Children also recognises that, in order to achieve this, health provision for children and young people needs to improve.
The National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services
The publication in September 2004 of the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services was a major step forward. The 10-year programme set eleven standards for all organisations providing services to children and their delivery partners, and included the requirement to introduce a Child Health Promotion Programme.
A report on progress was published on 14 November 2007 and highlighted that
policy makers and healthcare providers are responding to the challenges and shaping the child health agenda by making significant changes to the way health services are planned and delivered
It also noted that
the new status given to children and health by the Government is increasing the momentum for change and improvement. This coupled with the review of the NHS (with its special focus on children's and maternity and newborn services), and the Children's Plan being developed by DCSF, will offer important opportunities for enhancing the health of our children
Public Service Agreements
Thirty Public Service Agreements (PSAs) were published as part of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. PSA 12 to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people sets out the Government's vision for improving the physical, mental and emotional health of all children for the next three years. The focus will be on prevention, early intervention and enabling children, young people and their families to make healthy choices. The key indicators on which progress towards the vision will be monitored are:
- Increasing breastfeeding at 68 weeks
- Promoting the take-up of school lunches
- Reducing childhood obesity
- Improving emotional health and wellbeing, and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
- Improving services for disabled children (as set out in the document Aiming high for disabled children: Better support for families in May 2007)
The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families is the lead minister for this PSA and will receive progress reports from the Child Health and Wellbeing Board, which is co-chaired by the Director-General for Children and Families (DCSF) and the Chief Nursing Officer (Department of Health).
Improved health outcomes for children and young people will also be supported by PSA 14 to increase the number of children and young people on the path to success and PSA 18 to promote better health and wellbeing for all. The PSAs may be reviewed in the light of the consultation on the Children's Plan and the NHS Next Stage review Our NHS, our future.
NHS Next Stage review
The policies listed above will be supported by the NHS Next Stage review, and the interim report was published on 4 October 2007. Four of the eight patient pathways or journeys that clinical experts will be reviewing relate to children and young people, which will put services for them at the heart of NHS reforms. The full report of the review will be published in June 2008
NSF case studies database
The Government has built flexibility into the NSF by publishing the standards, while leaving the details of implementation to local councils and health bodies. The Department of Health website features a variety of case studies where commissioners, providers and practitioners have worked together and provided innovative local approaches to implementing the NSF.
A number of the services listed have been quality assured and will be able to provide details and reports of ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Further information is available from the case studies database.
Resources
National Service Framework for Children, Young People and
Maternity Services
National Service Framework documents
Every
Child Matters: Change for children in health services
Guidance setting out national support to local agencies to assist
implementation of the NSF for Children in the context of the wider ECM
programme
2007 PBR CSR:
Public service agreements
30 new PSAs setting a vision for continuous and accelerated improvement in the
Government's priority outcomes over the CSR07 period (2008-2011)
PSA 12: Improve the health and wellbeing of children and young
people
Delivery Agreement for PSA 12
Children's
health, our future: A review of progress against the National Service
Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services 2004
Progress report by Sheila Shribman, National Clinical Director for
Children
NHS Next Stage
Review Interim Report
Lord Darzi's Our NHS, Our Future review interim report
This page was last updated on 06 December 2007
