The health service will improve health outcomes for children, Andrew Lansley has pledged. The health secretary said he will soon be unveiling his new strategy to improve how the NHS meets their needs.
The aim of the Children’s and young people’s health outcomes strategy – due out later this year – will be to focus the health service on achieving better results for children and young people with different healthcare needs, including primary care, hospital and urgent care, and care for long-term conditions.
The strategy will be informed by an investigation into which health issues most concern children and young people, and how these can be met in a modern NHS, announced Mr Lansley. He said a team of 52 independent experts – from local government and charities as well as the NHS – will explore the views of children, their parents and other family members, carers and healthcare staff.
The health secretary said: “Our ambition for the Children’s and Young People’s Health Outcomes Strategy is a simple one – to improve outcomes for children and young people’s health.
“We will bring together people and resources from across the NHS, social care and wider children’s services to develop a clear set of goals to give all children the right start in life.
“By intervening early we will be to able to influence patterns of behaviour and can ensure that children and young people get the quality of care, services and support that they deserve.”
The Children’s and Young People’s Forum, designed on the NHS Future Forum Model, will be led jointly by Professor Ian Lewis, from Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, and Christine Lewis, from the Council for Disabled Children.
Professor Lewis described the strategy as “a genuine chance to make a difference to improve the availability and quality of healthcare provided to [children and young people] by the NHS.”