There are now quality standards for children who are homeless and marginalised? (You can read them here). This is about joined up child-centred care at the sharp end of complex needs.
- Would our new services meet these standards for extremely vulnerable children? - Yes.
- Do services incorporate body, mind, and context? - Yes.
- Do care pathways join up services? - Yes.
- Are we measuring outcomes in physical health, developmental, and psychosocial domains? - Yes.
Since CYPHP is about improving health for all children, it is reassuring to know that our services would pass this important test.
As the year draws to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on what we’re achieving, and what we’ve learned so far. We have put into place, and are testing at scale, a novel evidence-based integrated model of care for children, and a strengthened health system.
It’s starting to work. We are producing better healthcare, and improved child health.
While there’s plenty to cheer about, we should also remember the scale of challenge facing the population we serve.
Did you know?
Health inequalities across the country are worsening. For the first time in a long time, infant mortality is increasing, and life expectancy is actually reducing. (Read the full article here). With that national context in mind, here in Lambeth and Southwark we’re learning more about the complexity of need among local children.
We’re learning that many local children with common physical health conditions still suffer with poorly managed symptoms. We’re starting to see that through early intervention, our services are helping children whose physical and emotional health needs have not been met. We’re preventing the need for care later on.
Besides poor physical health, local children have a lot of psychosocial problems too. Families are struggling with housing, food, and bills. Many parents are also dealing with their own mental health problems. So, it’s good to know that our population approach to care is reaching children who really need support and care. We’re helping to tackle the inverse care law.
CYPHP is a proof of concept for clinical-academic child population health;
benefiting local children, and producing new knowledge so that we can go on improving child health.
Thank you for your support for what we’re trying to achieve in CYPHP. We all wish you the very best for a healthy and happy new year.
Ingrid Wolfe
Director Children & Young People's Health Partnership
Consultant Paediatric Population Medicine, Evelina London Children's Health
Senior Clinical Lecturer, School of Population Health, King's College London
To see more of the latest news from CYPHP, please click here.