The healthiest generation of children ever: a roadmap for the health system
The healthiest generation of children ever – a roadmap for the health system, published today by the Health Policy Influencing Group (HPIG), calls for all NHS funding announcements to be explicit about the proportion of spend allocated to children.
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children Co-Chair, Munira Wilson MP, said:
“This Roadmap provides clear direction for how this government can address the challenges in the health system by not only centring the needs of children and families but also ensuring that their voice is at the heart of any future plans. A health system that does not prioritise the needs of all children will not address the long-standing systemic issues that underly the health of our nation today.”
Despite the Government’s promises to create ‘the healthiest generation ever’ and prioritise a ‘prevention first’ approach to health, a coalition of charities and the Royal Colleges are sounding the alarm. They warn that children are at risk of being overlooked in efforts to reduce waiting lists, with no clear plan for how significant new investments in the NHS will benefit children’s health services. Currently, children’s hospital waiting lists have reached unprecedented levels, sometimes increasing to twice the rate of adult waiting times.
The Autumn Budget was unclear on how the funding would be allocated. The coalition is calling for the Government to urgently set out how much of this new investment will directly support children’s health services.
Amanda Allard, Co-Chair of the Children and Young People’s Health Policy Influencing Group, said:
"Babies, children and young people make up around 25% of the population, yet they are far too often overlooked in national decision-making on health. The Budget was a missed opportunity to set out how major new investment in the NHS will improve struggling child health services, including in the earliest years. Children will only be a priority in the NHS if we get leadership from the very top, and our Roadmap for the Healthiest Generation of Children Ever sets out how they can deliver this."
What does this mean for the previous government’s flagship programme Start for Life? There is no clarity about ongoing funding. HPIG is calling for an immediate commitment to Start for Life funding, as there is evidence that high-quality early years services can improve the wellbeing of babies and young children, boost future opportunities, and prevent ill health later in life.
Their recommendations for a fundamental re-prioritisation of children within the NHS include:
- Explicit metrics for improving child health to be included in the Government’s Health Mission, and making babies, children and young people a central pillar of the forthcoming Ten Year Plan.
- The restoration of key preventive services, including health visiting and school nursing.
- A new elective recovery standard for children’s health services (including community services), so that 100% of children are seen within the 18-week target by the end of this Parliament.