Transforming child health services in England: a blueprint (RCPCH, 4 September 2024)

Summary

Children are waiting longer than adults to access healthcare, paediatric services are not recovering at the same rates as adult services, and there is a growing gap between demand and capacity. This has coincided with an unprecedented increased demand for children’s health services, which is forecast to grow further due to both preventable and non-preventable increases in childhood illness. 

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) blueprint for transforming child health services makes the case for change. It calls on the UK government to commit to restoring health services for children in England.

Content

Across seven themes, the report sets out a series of detailed and intersectional recommendations. These are intended to act as a guide to the transformational change that is needed across child health services in England.

Four national foundations to recover children’s health services and improve child health outcomes:

• Ensure fair funding for children.
• Prioritise children in Integrated Care Systems.
• Support a sustainable child health workforce.
• Improve data and digital innovation.

Three targeted areas of focus address parts of the health system under exceptional pressure:

• Reduce pressure on urgent and emergency care.
• Reinvest in community health services.
• Improve the interface between primary and secondary care.