4th November 2024
As a member of the Health Policy Influencing Group, the iHV joins with over 50 children’s charities and Royal Colleges calling for the government to set out their plans to deliver their manifesto commitments for children.
Despite the government’s commitment to create ‘the healthiest generation ever’ and their ‘prevention first’ approach to health, the coalition warns that children risk becoming an afterthought in action to tackle waiting lists, with no clarity on how major new investment in the NHS will be spent on children’s health services. Children’s hospital waitlists have grown to a record high, at times growing at double the rate of the adult waiting times.[i] At the same time, more children and families are being harmed by conditions that are almost entirely preventable, or where early identification and treatment would make a significant difference to their outcomes.
Today, the Health Policy Influencing Group has published their Roadmap for the Healthiest Generation of Children Ever – in this document, the coalition has come together to set out the conditions for success.
HPIG members are calling for all NHS funding announcements to be explicit about the proportion of spend allocated to children. Last week’s Budget failed to deliver on this front, and now the coalition are calling for the government to urgently set out how much of this new investment will directly support children’s health services.
The coalition sets out recommendations for a fundamental re-prioritisation of children within the NHS, including:
- 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.
In addition, the future of the previous government’s flagship early years health programme, Start for Life, remains uncertain. HPIG is calling for clarity on the programme’s funding across local authority areas. There is compelling 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.
Alison Morton, iHV CEO said:
“The evidence is clear that reversing the deteriorating state of child health will require a ‘whole system’ response. Alongside actions to tackle the wider determinants of health, our nation’s children deserve robust children’s health services, as well as the innovative and additional support that is provided by children’s charities and community organisations. The Institute of Health Visiting is delighted to be part of this strong coalition of partners all joining together with a clear vision and Roadmap for success. We look forward to working together with the new government to make this a reality. Childhood matters because it is short – our children cannot wait any longer!”
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.”
APPG 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.”
[i] RCPCH, 2023; Record high: Over 400,000 children waiting for treatment amidst child health crisis | RCPCH
