Clinical standards

Consultations

Harnessing the views of our members:

A recognised and respected authority on child health, the College is committed to working with our Members to respond to consultations on children and young people's health. These consultations will shape the way that children's healthcare is delivered in future.

Last published on 17 May 2013

South Wales specialist hospital care plans to be revealed

Plans for major changes to the way some specialist hospital care is delivered in south Wales will be unveiled later.

Health officials believe some services are spread too thinly and should be centralised in four or five hospitals instead.

They include accident and emergency and care for premature babies and children.

Five health boards have been drawing up the proposals, which include hospitals from Swansea, Cardiff and Newport, since the start of 2012.

Last published on 22 May 2013

Ministers urged to record sex of aborted foetuses

MPs have urged the government to open an enquiry after officials found signs that birth rates for girls and boys vary noticeably according to where their mothers were born.

Earl Howe, a health minister, said that these differences in rates of male and female births among mothers of certain nationalities may 'fall outside the range considered possible without intervention'.

It formed the first official statistical evidence potentially backing up concerns that sex-selection abortions are being carried out in Britain.

Last published on 16 April 2013

Variation in epilepsy care mapped across the UK

The results of the UK’s first national audit of epilepsy care for children and young people are now available as an interactive web tool, allowing units to see at a glance how they fare against key indicators and how they compare to other units.

Developed by the national Child and Maternal Health Observatory (ChiMat) and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the web tools include:

Last published on 16 April 2013

Why a newborn baby’s cord should not be cut too soon

Doctors and midwives have said that delaying the cutting of the umbilical cord is safer for the baby.
At present, NHS guidelines advise that in the third stage of labour (after the birth) the cord should be clamped and cut as quickly as possible, unless a mother specifically requests otherwise. Early cord-clamping also means the midwife can take the baby away to clear the airway and ensure the baby is breathing easily, and it is also thought to reduce the risk of jaundice.

Last published on 15 April 2013

'Achieving parity between mental and physical health' report is published

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has published a report exploring the lack of equality between mental and physical health.

Evidence suggests that mental health is undermined and not given the same importance as physical health.

The report, which included input from the RCPCH, highlights the strong relationship between mental and physical health and makes recommendations for how parity between the two can be achieved.

View the full report (PDF 683.67kb).

Last published on 4 April 2013

Doctors support 1950s-style tonsil surgery

Last published on 3 April 2013

New standards for children’s surgery produced

Children with emergency surgical conditions should not wait longer than 12 hours from decision to operate to undergoing surgery, and operations should be scheduled with consideration for the needs of children and their parents, according to new guidance published by the Royal College of Surgeons.

Last published on 22 March 2013

Paediatrician warns about falling care standards

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's Dr Peter Fowlie, speaks exclusively to The Herald about the need for reconfiguration in order to improve healthcare for children in Scotland.

Dr Peter Fowlie, The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's Officer for Scotland, said:

'When you say the word "reconfiguration" alarm bells start ringing and people automatically think of closures.

'While this may be true in some situations, it's certainly not always the case.

Last published on 25 February 2013

NPDA- transparency and open data

In his transparency and open data letter to cabinet ministers on 7 July 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron outlined the commitment of the government to make available clinical audit data from the national audits within the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme.

Last published on 1 May 2013