Health policy

The RCPCH Policy team supports members and officers in making and shaping policy affecting health services for children and young people.

The policy team's work encompasses both health policy and child protection.

Follow RCPCH's involvement with the progression of the Health and Social Care Bill through our new web page. 

Publications

• Children and young people's health - where next?, 2011

RCPCH has launched a joint publication with the NHS Confederation, supported by the Office of Public Management (OPM), entitled Children and young people's health - where next? (PDF, 616KB, 24 pages). It builds on a stakeholder event with sector leaders in early September 2011, and presents a consensus view on the impact of the recent health reforms on children’s health, as well as recommendations on how they might be improved.

• Involving Children and Young People in Health Services, 2011

Accompanying the publication children and young people's health: where next?,  Involving children and young people in health services (PDF, 988KB, 20 pages) is a challenging new report ensuring the views and experiences of children and young people are at the heart of NHS reforms. 

We produce a regular policy e-bulletin. Please email us if you would like to receive this. 

Our health policy work includes:

• Coordinating input to Government, Department of Health (DH) and other bodies’ developments, where there may be an impact on the healthcare of children and young people. Visit our consultations or position statements  pages for more information
• Providing a policy briefing service to members and Officers, summarising current developments in healthcare and developing position statements using member expertise.
• Working with the press and media team and speciality members to ensure that our media responses and press releases are timely, accurate and pertinent. Our RCPCH news feed is regularly updated to include the latest in policy news
• Linking with other Colleges, the Department of Health and organisations to anticipate new ways of working for children's and young people's services. See our service configuration pages for the latest developments across the UK
• Responding to relevant enquiries through the College helpline and website. You can contact the College with a general enquiry
• Running 'policy breakfasts' bringing together senior influencers to take forward thinking on topics like youth offending, public health, commissioning, the Kennedy report, with breakfasts planned on Child Protection, Mental Health, International work, the SEN and Disability Green Paper and Urgent care.
• Supporting nine College Committees – managing administration and supporting development and publication of standards and handbooks. More information to follow.

Contact

The health policy team comprises four full-time staff.  You can contact them through the links below: