Children's health

A 10-year blueprint for revolutionising children's health services in England was presented by the government yesterday as a world first in setting comprehensive standards of paediatric care.

John Reid, the health secretary, promised that children would no longer be treated as small adults, given inappropriate medicines in reduced doses, or trailed by anxious parents between services that dodged responsibility for conditions such as autism.

Government Response: Department of Health

John Reid, health secretary, said: "Children and young people are not just mini-adults. They need more personalised services that are tailored to meet their individual needs. This national service framework (NSF) is the biggest national effort there has ever been to improve health and social care services for children, young people and their parents."

Stakeholder Response: Health Development Agency

Paul Streets, chief executive of the Health Development Agency, said: "We welcome the standards announced today that will help the NHS, local authorities and their partner agencies achieve a high standard of service provision and reduce health inequalities to ensure that children have the best possible chance to realise their full potential.

 

"In particular, the improvement of long term health outcomes for children and young people thatare promoted through the National Healthy Schools Programme (managed on behalf of the the government by the HDA) information and services to prevent risk taking and promote healthy lifestyles in children and young people.

 

"The National Healthy Schools Programme is contributing towards addressing the standards set out today in the children's national service framework. It supports schools to promote the physical, social and emotional health needs of children and young people. It addresses key health themes using a whole school approach whilst offering the opportunity for all schools to engage, the programme targets schools serving the most socially deprived communities.

 

"Key to local success has been embedding the programme within a strategic partnership between health and education which ensures that services are provided to schools in an integrated, cost-effective manner."

 

Stakeholder Response: Royal College of Nursing

Dr Beverly Malone, general secretary of the RCN, said: "There is much to welcome in the standards published today, especially the recognition that children are not just mini-adults, but individuals in their own right and deserve to have services developed around their specific needs.

"But we do worry that as implementation is left entirely to local discretion, some areas may have difficulty in making sure the standards become a reality. The real test will be whether children and their families come to see concrete improvements in the health care they experience."

Stakeholder Response: Commission for Social Care Inspection

Dame Denise Platt, chairwoman of the Commission for Social Care Inspection, said: "It is very pleasing to see the NSF for children at last and it is right that we should treat children as individuals and not as 'mini-adults'.

"Responding to children's particular needs and integrating health and social care services while working closely with education are critical if children are to make the best of their opportunities in life.  

"These standards, which follow the child's journey to adulthood, provide an essential tool for local services. Their strength lies in the focus on the needs of children at critical times in their lives. 

"The framework is critically important to improve children's services and the Commission for Social Care will do all it can to ensure that the new standards are delivered.

"The Commission's prime function is to promote improvement in social care, but it also has a specific duty to promote and safeguard the welfare and rights of children – the legislation that created the Healthcare Commission and CSCI is the first piece of legislation for England to mention children's rights.  Hopefully it will not be the last.

The Commission has also agreed to take a rights-based approach to its work and has adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

"In its current policies for children, the government has broadened its perspective to reflect the breadth of children's lives.

"The policy quite rightly includes education, leisure services, the youth service, social care and the criminal justice services too.

"Its messages of prevention, the bringing together of the planning of universal services with targeted services and its messages on the need for cohesion across agencies are most welcome.

"Implementation of the NSF at a local level should become part of the changes that are being made to integrate other children’s services.

"If implemented well and fully, children and young people will be better-off. The NSF for children has been a long time coming, but finally a vital piece of the jigsaw puzzle can be added to complete the picture of coherent policies and standards for children's services."