25th February 2015
The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) welcomes the new ‘Building Great Britons Report’ released today by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Conception to Age 2 – The First 1001 Days.
The report is the result of an inquiry conducted by the APPG for Conception to Age 2 – The First 1001 Days into perinatal mental health and child maltreatment which suggests that the cost of failing to deal with these issues is estimated to be £23billion (about half of the annual defence spending of £43billion), and that poor parental-child attachment can be passed down from one generation to the next, creating a vicious cycle and damaging environment in which to grow up.
Dr Cheryll Adams, Director of the Institute of Health Visiting, said: “As an early coalition partner to the APPG, we believe this is a seminal piece of work which, if widely supported by all those with the power to implement its findings, could make a huge difference to the health and wellbeing of our society, in particular to the future life trajectories of the very young, the yet to be born and to future generations!
“The next step must be to increase national investment into this critical period of all our lives. Health visitors will welcome the report, as it endorses many of their existing primary preventative services, but recognises the need to strengthen them. Commissioned by the Department of Health, we have been delivering perinatal mental health training for health visitors – and since 2013, over 500 perinatal mental health champions have been trained. In addition, the report’s focus on good parent-baby attunement is another area where the iHV is currently rolling out training to all health visitors.”
Launching on Wednesday 25 February at the Speaker’s House in Parliament, the report is the culmination of months of inquiry sessions which took evidence from a committee panels of experts and Parliamentarians to investigate the various factors that affect the emotional and social development of children from conception to age 2.
Tim Loughton MP, former Children’s Minister and Chairman of the APPG for Conception to Age 2, has been overseeing the inquiry and commented: “The cost of failing to deal adequately with perinatal mental health and child maltreatment has been estimated at £23billion each year. As our report shows the two are closely linked and, more importantly, largely avoidable. That is the equivalent of more than two thirds of the annual Defence Budget going on a problem that is widespread and, when unchecked, passes from one poorly parented generation to the next. Tackling it should be no less a priority for our politicians and our health and social care professionals than defence of the realm.”
The over-arching inquiry pulls together previous research in the area to offer two main conclusions:
The first is that, in order to deliver socially and emotionally capable children at age 2, local policies need to be based on a commitment to primary prevention. The evidence presented in the Inquiry strongly indicates that identification of need should take place before the child is harmed, not after. Therefore, inspection should look closely at primary prevention measures which would deliver this result.
The second conclusion is that, without intervention, there will be in the future, as there has been in the past, high transmission of disadvantage, inequality, dysfunction and child maltreatment from one generation to the next and subsequent generations, and the economic value of breaking these cycles will be enormous.
In addition, the report offers nine recommendations which it says are practical, achievable but, above all, the minimum essential if society is to tackle these issues.
Dr Adams continued: “Health visitors have always made a huge contribution to supporting children and families. They have a unique and privileged role with families as support and relationships are often built up over a number of years – families engage with their health visitor whilst expecting their first child and continue to receive support until their youngest child enters school. For example, for a family with three children who are born two years apart, this could mean a health visiting relationship of ten years.”
Dr Cheryll Adams added: “We really hope that this new report will result in a much clearer understanding of why it is so essential to invest in very early years universal and specialist services to reduce the impact of perinatal mental health and child maltreatment, and improve later health and wellbeing, of children, families and communities. Health visitors are best placed to help give children the best start in life.”
ENDS
For more information on health visitors and their impact on the “Great Britons Report”
- Julie Cooper, Communications and Marketing Manager at the Institute of Health Visiting on 07508 344716 or [email protected]
For all media enquiries about the report
- Please call Clair Rees on 07983 494438
Notes to editors
About ‘Building Great Britons Report’
To access the electronic version of the report on the launch day 25th February visit www.1001criticaldays.co.uk/news_list.php?cat=parliament
Recommendations from the Report:
Recommendation 1: Achieving the very best experience for children in their first 1001 days should be a mainstream undertaking by all political parties and a key priority for NHS England. Recognising its influence on the nature of our future society, the priority given to the first 1001 days should be elevated to the same level as Defence of the Realm.
Recommendation 2: Require local authorities, CCGs and Health & Wellbeing Boards to prioritise all factors leading to the development of socially and emotionally capable children at age 2, by: adopting and implementing a ‘1001-days’ strategy, and showing how they intend to implement it in collaboration with their partner agencies, within 5 years. The ‘1001-days’ strategies should be based on primary preventive principles, with particular emphasis on fostering mental/emotional wellbeing and secure attachment, and preventing child maltreatment.
Recommendation 3: National government should establish a ‘1001-days’ strategy fund to support local authorities and CCGs to make a decisive switch over the next 5 years, to a primary preventive approach in the first 1001 days. Practical support should also be provided, including the measures of success
Recommendation 4: Hold Health & Wellbeing Boards responsible for ensuring that local authorities and CCGs demonstrate delivery of a sound primary prevention approach as outlined in Part II of this report. Promote the delivery of this through establishing scorecards (similar to Adoption Scorecards) and a joined up multi-agency inspection framework which combines CQC and OFSTED.
Recommendation 5: Build on the ‘Early Help’ recommendations of the Munro Review by requiring and supporting all relevant agencies in prevention to work together to prevent child maltreatment and promote secure attachment.
Recommendation 6: Appoint a Minister for Families and Best Start in Life with cross-departmental responsibility, drawing together all relevant departmental ministers, with a remit to draw up a ‘1001-days’ strategy Masterplan within 12 months of the election. The Minister should either be in the Cabinet or reporting directly to Cabinet.
Recommendation 7: Make joint inter-agency training on the importance of the early years for social and emotional development, for all professionals working with children and families in the early years, a priority in the ‘1001-days’ strategy
Recommendation 8: Children’s centres should become a central source of support for families in the early years with access to multi-agency teams and multiple on-site services including health visiting, GP services, housing, finance, parenting classes, birth registration, library and other community services.
Recommendation 9: Research evidence and good local area data are necessary to ensure effective changes are implemented to services. Where data and evidence are not available, these should be prioritised and supported with appropriate funding.
About the Institute of Health Visiting
- The Institute of Health Visiting is A UK Centre of Excellence supporting the development of universally high-quality health visiting practice. It was launched on 28th November 2012 to promote excellence in health visiting practice to benefit all children, families and communities.
- The aim for the iHV is to raise standards in health visiting practice, so improving public health outcomes for all children, families and communities.
- For more information go to www.ihv.org.uk
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