Working to deliver better outcomes for children and young people

Friday, 8 November 2024

Commissioned by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, a thought-leadership report entitled ‘Harnessing system working to deliver better outcomes for children and young people’ has been published.

Produced alongside Deloitte and endorsed by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Chair Raj Jain and the Children and Young People’s Committee, the report reveals that more than 40% of children across Cheshire and Merseyside are currently living in poverty.

Too many are classed as overweight or obese, many do not achieve the expected level of development at the end of Reception and poor mental health is on the rise.

In 2020, just 6.1% of health expenditure across all healthcare providers nationally was spent on preventive care, with 80% of all local authority spending on children spent on late intervention services.

This lack of early intervention and support for children leaves many at higher risk of neglect, exploitation, mental ill-health and the need for more expensive intervention in later life.

Services are currently far more likely to be reacting to harm, as opposed to investing in preventative action, which leads to more positive health and life outcomes and costs less in the long term.

With a duty for the NHS to contribute to addressing health inequalities, the report finds that the answer lies in greater collaboration and integration. It recommends that the Cheshire and Merseyside system works to embed:

  1. Early Intervention – An opportunity to mitigate family risk factors, such as substance abuse and mental health, that impact early childhood and can lead to abuse and neglect.
  2. Incorporating Lived Experience – Giving a voice to children and young people about services that affect their lives.
  3. Supporting Community-Based Interventions – Community assets serve as an alternative and economically viable approach to public service delivery.
  4. Utilising Evidence-Led Approaches – Being able to demonstrate the tangible impact of interventions.
  5. Networked Work – A co-ordinated approach is necessary to tackle the complex challenges faced by vulnerable children and young people - establishing joint solutions to prevent young people from slipping through the cracks.

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Chair Raj Jain said:

Information:

“It is a collective duty of health and care organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside to work together to meet the needs of children young people and to pursue and embed interventions which demonstrate tangible positive impact.

“System working is complex and converting theory into practice is challenging, but this report and the case studies explored within it demonstrate the potential for impactful change.”

To read the full report, please click here.