ERIC part of new alliance launched in response to crisis in children’s health services

The Child Health Workforce Alliance has been brought together by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB). It’s a group of 25 organisations, including ERIC, The Children’s Bowel & Bladder Charity and other organisations from across the areas of health, education and social care. The aim is for there to be more attention and strategic focus in policymaking for the child health workforce, which is currently underfunded and overlooked, that’s needed to help realise the government’s ambition for children – the aim for the healthiest generation of children ever.

A quarter (25%) of the population is made up of babies, children and young people, yet they only account for 11% of NHS expenditure. Children’s developmental and health needs are different from adults’, and those needs are met through a distinct set of services staffed by a specialised workforce, underpinned by specific legislation. Even with all of this, the child health workforce are rarely treated equitably when it comes to national decision-making.

Serious challenges

A key policy briefing, published by the Alliance in its first act, outlines the serious challenges faced by the child health workforce. These include things like staffing shortages and burnout, to gaps in training and retention.

It also includes solutions – cross-sector solutions that the government can take forward, like investment in workforce planning, improved career pathways, and stronger integration across services. The government want to shift more services into the community and these measures will be essential to doing that.

And that’s not all! The Child Health Workforce Alliance, which includes ERIC, has written to the Secretary of State of Health and Social Care and Secretary of State for Education. We are calling for a prioritisation of children’s health and wellbeing in the new NHS workforce plan, through meaningful engagement on the development of it.

We also want to drive forward change through continued engagement with government, professionals and the public – to ensure that, in workforce planning and policy, children’s health is no longer sidelined.

Siân Wicks LLM RGN, CEO of ERIC, says:

“We’re proud to join the Child Health Workforce Alliance and stand alongside other leading organisations to champion the health and wellbeing of children across the UK.

To achieve the government’s vision of raising ‘the healthiest generation of children’, we all need to work together and there needs to be investment in children’s health and support for the professionals who care for them. We look forward to working constructively with the government to achieve this.”

Amanda Allard, Director of the Council for Disabled Children, and Phil Anderson, NCB Strategic Director of External Affairs

Co-chairs of the Children and Young People’s Health Policy Influencing Group says:

“To realise the government’s ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever, restated in its 10 Year Health Plan for the NHS, we need sustained investment in the recruitment and development of specialist professionals, underpinned by a comprehensive child health workforce strategy.

The Child Health Workforce Alliance, which brings together 25 different organisations working on child health, will engage collaboratively with government to ensure babies, children, and young people remain a priority in the upcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan.”