The Child Health Workforce Alliance brings together leading organisations across health, education, and social care to ensure that the currently underfunded and overlooked child health workforce receives the attention and strategic focus in policymaking needed to help realise the government’s ambitions for children.
Babies, children and young people make up around 25% of the population, yet they only account for 11% of NHS expenditure. Children are different to adults; they have their own developmental and health needs that are met through a distinct set of services, staffed by a specialised workforce and underpinned by specific legislation. Despite this, the child health workforce is rarely treated equitably in national decision-making.
In its first act, the Alliance has published a key policy briefing (PDF), which outlines the serious challenges faced by the child health workforce, from staffing shortages and burnout to gaps in training and retention. The briefing also sets out a series of cross-sector solutions for governments to take forward, including investment in workforce planning, improved career pathways, and stronger integration across services. These measures will be essential to the delivery of the government ambition to shift more services into the community.
The Child Health Workforce Alliance has also written to the Secretary of State of Health and Social Care and Secretary of State for Education calling on them to engage meaningfully on the development of the new NHS workforce plan so that it prioritises children’s health and wellbeing.
The Alliance will continue to engage with government, professionals, and the public across the UK to drive forward change and ensure that children’s health is no longer sidelined in workforce planning and policy.
RCPCH President, Professor Steve Turner, said:
In his report, Lord Darzi highlighted the chronic underinvestment in child health services and how the health and wellbeing of our children is in decline. Today the UK has some of the worst health outcomes for children in Europe, leaving an underfunded and under-resourced child health workforce struggling to meet unprecedented levels of demand.
The development of a new NHS workforce plan is a crucial opportunity to help reverse this trend and help raise the healthiest generation of children ever. This newly formed Alliance represents a united front of organisations who believe that every child deserves access to high-quality care, delivered by a well-supported and properly resourced workforce. Together we will campaign for a much-needed cross-sector approach to workforce planning, which reflects the unique needs of children and the increased demand and complexity of child health.
Carli Whittaker, Royal College of Nursing's Head of Nursing, said:
School nurses, health visitors and those working in communities are critical to giving children and young people the best start in life. But as this report shows, sustained underfunding means there simply aren’t enough staff to meet demand. This has to change.
When children and young people are left without access to care, it not only causes harm but also stores up more problems for the future. Investment in children and young people’s nursing roles is money well spent, helping to prevent illness, support healthier choices and deliver crucial interventions at the right time. To do this, ministers must reverse the decline in health visitors and school nurses which have collapsed by a third since 2009.
The upcoming workforce plan must set out how it intends to rebuild these vital nursing roles, with government providing the necessary funding to make it a reality. The vision to move from illness to prevention and from hospital to community will only succeed if children and young people get the care they deserve.
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ Director of Policy & Public Affairs, Derek Munn, said:
The number of children with speech, language and communication needs has rocketed by 64% in England since 2016, but the children’s speech and language therapy workforce has not kept pace. As a result, we see many children facing long waits to access support, which risks significant negative impacts on their wellbeing, education, and future life chances. If the government is serious about a shift towards prevention, increasing school readiness, and breaking down the barriers to opportunity, then we need to see a clear focus on the child health workforce in the Ten-Year Workforce Plan. As a member of the Child Health Workforce Alliance, we look forward to working constructively with Government departments and our partners in the alliance to realise the government’s ambitions for children.
Aoife Regan, GOSH Charity's Director of Impact and Charitable Programmes, said:
We at Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity) are proud to be members of the Child Health Workforce Alliance and welcome the opportunity to collaborate with other organisations in addressing the challenges facing children's healthcare.
We believe every child should have the best chance, and best childhood possible, so it's crucial that the unique and specific needs of children are recognised in the Government's Long-Term Workforce Plan, including the delivery of specialised services and a strong research workforce dedicated to finding new and effective treatments for rare and complex paediatric diseases.
Great Ormond Street Hospital sees hundreds of children and young people every day and we will stop at nothing until no childhood is lost to serious illness. Having an adequate and specialised workforce is key to this, and we look forward to continuing the work with the Alliance and stakeholders across the sector to support the development of the new plan.
Anna Edmundson, NSPCC Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said:
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.
Health professionals play a vital role in preventing child abuse and neglect. The chronic underfunding of children’s health services is a significant safeguarding concern. Government plans to improve child protection are urgently needed but they will fall flat without enough capacity in the child health workforce.
To achieve the Government’s vision of raising “the healthiest generation of children,” childhoods must be free from abuse and neglect. The upcoming NHS Workforce Plan is an opportunity to revitalise the child health sector. The Health Secretary must empower health professionals to work together with social services and the police to keep children safe.
Amanda Allard, Director of the Council for Disabled Children, and Phil Anderson, National Children’s Bureau’s Strategic Director of External Affair, said:
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 over 25 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.
Notes to Editors:
- Members of the Child Health Workforce Alliance:
- A Better Start Blackpool
- A Better Start Bradford
- Academy of Medical Sciences
- Association of Directors of Public Health
- Auditory Verbal UK
- British Association for Social Workers
- British Society for Paediatric Dentistry
- Disabled Children's Partnership
- ERIC Children's Bowel and Bladder Health Charity
- Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity
- Local Government Association
- National Children's Bureau
- National i-Thrive team
- National Network of Parent Carer Forums
- NHS Confederation
- Parent-Infant Foundation
- Partnership for Children
- Royal College of Nursing
- School and Public Health Nurses Association
- Starlight
- The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
- The Royal College of Occupational Therapists
- The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
- The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
- Voluntary Organisations Disability Group