The foundations for a healthy life are laid in childhood, so an ambition of creating the healthiest generation of children yet is an important step towards tackling the deep inequalities in their healthcare.
I have long called for a child’s ‘red book’ to be digitised, so this is a really welcome move. Taken with plans currently going through Parliament to develop a unique childhood identifier, will vastly improve how we protect and care for the most vulnerable children, with fewer in danger of falling through gaps in services.
Children tell me that when they need additional support, they want it in one place, so creating neighbourhood services that bring different professionals under one roof will make a practical difference in their lives, as will increasing access to GPs and dentists.
But none of this will happen overnight. My Youth Ambassadors who sat down with the policymakers developing this 10-year plan were clear that children are getting sicker: from the impact of poverty and the pandemic on their mental health, to a fall in vaccine take-up, to lengthy waits for appointments or assessments, to a lack of physical activities.
Children’s healthcare must be given equal priority in funding to adult care – and transformed with their views and experiences at its heart.
