NHS Providers report – Forgotten generation of youngsters at risk from long waits as demand piles high

The CHA welcomes the publication of this analysis of responses to a questionnaire from 134 NHS Trust leaders, including CHA trust members, following many conversations between CHA and NHS Providers on the urgent issues in child health.

The report highlighted that:

• 90% of trusts say children’s health and wellbeing not high enough national priority
• Just 16% of trusts are keeping up with demand for CYP services
• There are three-year waits for some autism and ADHD assessments
• Cross-government plan and public health boost needed.

We also welcome the report’s recommendations to:

1. A cross-departmental strategy for the health and well-being of children and young people
2. Utilising the insights of frontline services to establish national approaches to meet demand for services most under pressure
3. Reviewing transitions between paediatric and adult services to identify gaps
4. A national requirement for ICSs to prioritise children and young people’s services and protect local capital and revenue funding to address their challenges
5. Increasing the public health grant to restore key services, such as health visiting and school nursing
6. To support and embed the work that frontline trusts are doing on workforce.

Beyond this, we will continue to advocate for a national child health action plan that addresses gaps across the whole patient pathway from primary to tertiary care, with protected funding for child health technology & innovation, underpinned by a vision to create the most caring and most innovative child health service in the world.

Credit: https://nhsproviders.org/forgotten-generation-shaping-better-services-for-children-and-young-people/recommendations