- A survey of paediatricians showed that 75% of participants reported already seeing children being negatively affected by long waiting times for treatment.
- Survey also shows 74% of paediatricians are seeing children and young people who have waited over 18 weeks for an appointment, with 77% very concerned by these long waits.
- 83% of paediatricians stated there is not an appropriate level of capacity locally to meet increasing demand.
- The RCPCH Blueprint puts children at the centre and makes recommendations for change across seven key areas of child health services: funding, workforce, integration, data and digital innovation, urgent and emergency care, community services and primary care.
Paediatricians today called on the UK Government to urgently address unacceptable challenges in child health services following a snapshot survey that revealed the often-devastating consequences for children and their families due to long waits before receiving care.
Over three-quarters of respondents to a snapshot poll by members of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) reported regularly seeing children who have waited over 18 weeks for an appointment. Doctors see children are negatively impacted by this wait but 83% report there is not an appropriate level of capacity locally to meet demand.
RCPCH says this situation is the result of a decade of chronic underinvestment and lack of national prioritisation in children’s health.
At the same time, RCPCH has published a major new report ‘From left behind to leading the way: a blueprint for transforming child health services in England’, highlighting how the lack of investment in children’s health is having severe consequences for outcomes, the sustainability of child health services, and the long-term health of our population.
This landmark report outlines how children and young people are not being adequately prioritised within our health system and provides a blueprint which, if taken forward, will restore child health services and build a solid foundation of health and wellbeing for today’s children and tomorrow’s adults.
The College highlights that without due attention the desperate situation described by paediatricians in its survey will only get worse. However, with a renewed focus at the heart of government on children’s health and wellbeing, the College is hopeful for change. The blueprint makes a series of evidence-based recommendations to the new UK government, including:
- Developing a child health workforce strategy
- Introducing a children and young people specific waiting times standard for Integrated Care Systems (ICS)
- Prioritising the development of a digital child health record
- Adequately investing in community paediatrics, as well as health visiting and school nursing services
You can read the full list of recommendations in our blueprint.
RCPCH President, Professor Steve Turner, said:
Children and young people are 25% of the population and 100% of the future, yet the evidence clearly shows that as a country we are failing our children. Paediatricians are working hard to provide high quality care, but without proper support, they face an uphill battle. I’m deeply troubled by the current situation. We now have a two-tier healthcare system where services for adults are invested in, while children are left behind.
I know that with a renewed focus we can turn this around. Today, we present the UK government with a series of practical solutions that will enable them to deliver on their commitment to raise the healthiest generation of children in our history. We want to work with the government and relevant bodies, so that children and the child health workforce are considered as part of all health policy decision making. Investing in and reforming paediatric services is not only valuable but is fundamental to the future health and economic wellbeing of our country.
RCPCH Officer for Health Services, Dr Ronny Cheung, said:
My paediatric colleagues have provided a shocking snapshot of the state of child health services today. While these results are not a surprise to me as a consultant paediatrician, they are still a sobering read. The impacts of long-waits are as devastating as they are far-reaching: children and their families denied child disability payments until seen by a paediatrician, mild symptoms progressing into much more complicated conditions and a reduced quality of life, school exclusions and wider family stress. These are impacts that will have life-long consequences and, tragically, are repeated hundreds of thousands of times across the UK.
We welcome the government’s ambitions on children’s health and wellbeing, but a clear cross-government action plan is urgently needed to address the scandalous state of our child health services. Our blueprint provides a pathway to recovery, and we stand ready to work with government ministers as they take forward plans for the NHS. Children must be at the centre.
Amanda Allard and Matthew Dodd, Co-Chairs of the Children and Young Person’s Health Policy Influencing Group, said:
We warmly welcome this report from RCPCH and the clear direction it sets for prioritising and improving children’s health. The sad fact is children are waiting too long to access NHS services with detrimental effects on their health, development and wellbeing. Without explicit requirements to do so backed by additional investment in the services children rely on, local health systems will not be able to prioritise children’s needs. If the Government is serious about raising the healthiest generation of children ever, it urgently needs to address current systemic shortcomings through coordinated cross departmental work and health policies that are specific to the needs of children.
Transforming child health services in England: a blueprint
Update, 12 September 2024 - The results of our paediatric snapshot survey, completed by members between 16 August and 2 September, can be downloaded below.