Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 2024
Quick read:
From left behind to leading the way: a blueprint for transforming child health services in England 1. The issue
2. The evidence1
Children are waiting longer than adults to access healthcare, paediatric services have not recovered at the same rates as adult health services, and there is a growing gap between demand and capacity. Much of this is a result of chronic underinvestment in child health services and a deprioritisation of children in the national health policy agenda. The specific needs of children and paediatric services have not been adequately addressed, instead the focus has predominantly been on the needs of an ageing population.
The state of child health services • The number of children waiting for over 52 weeks for healthcare has increased by 60% for elective paediatric services, and 94% for community health services, in just two years. Over 50,000 children have been waiting for a year or more. • Children make up around a quarter of the total waiting list for community health services but over three-quarters of 52+ week waits. • Only 8% of mental health spending is allocated to CYP mental health provision, despite them making up 30% of the demand. • 0–14-year-olds are more likely to attend A&E than any other age group but have been largely overlooked in funding for emergency care. • Only 16% of Trust leaders reported that their Trust was able to meet demand for child health services.
This has coincided with an unprecedented increased demand for child health services, which is forecast to grow further. Many lifelong health issues are established in childhood and adolescence - if more children grow up with unaddressed ill health, multiple morbidities, and poorer health outcomes, we will have a less healthy nation.
The state of child health (four areas which put particular strain on services) • Respiratory illness - Around 1 in 11 children and young people live with asthma, and the UK has one of the highest rates of emergency admission for childhood asthma. • Chronic and complex conditions - There has been an increase in the number of children with multiple health conditions. At the most complex, the proportion of children who have eight or more chronic conditions almost doubled from 7.6% in 2012/13 to 14.0% in 2018/19. • Excess weight - 2.5 million children in England are affected by excess weight, and 1.2 million are living with complications from obesity. 23.4% of Year 6 children were obese in 2021/22, 80% of whom are predicted to remain obese as adults. • Mental health - Nearly three-quarters of children and young people with a mental illness also have a physical health or developmental condition.
Investment in child health services offers significant return, as it provides both longterm returns (cost savings across the life course) and cross-sector returns (saving money in health-related school absence, mental health, youth justice spending, labour market inactivity as well as within the health system). Investing in children’s health now is vital for the future health and economic wellbeing of the UK.
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For evidence references, please see the full blueprint.
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