Providing a good start in life and enabling children to achieve their full potential and be physically and emotionally healthy provides the cornerstone for a healthy, productive adulthood.
Public Health England and the NHS Outcomes Framework 2015/16 stress that a focus on children’s health is essential and that we should be striving to provide the best start in life possible for our children. The recent National Maternity Review has highlighted that this begins not just with the newborn child but with the mother’s experiences in pregnancy and the birth itself. The importance of ensuring this good start for the future health of children for the sustainability of the NHS and the economic prosperity of Britain is one of the key themes of the Five Year Forward View.
Across health and social care and education there is now a determined focus on improving outcomes for children’s health and wellbeing. Emphasis is on the importance of early interventions and preventive measures in improving health, more coordinated approaches to health and wellbeing and giving greater weight to the voices of children, young people, parents and families to
develop effective care strategies.
Access to information and effective information services have a strong role to play in supporting this agenda. This forward view outlines a new vision for how child health information can support parents and professionals in their direct care for children and young people and how the same information can be used to promote their health and wellbeing. We set out the case for restructuring our information services and systems for children, young people, parents and families so they can contribute fully to improving their health and wellbeing and collaborate easily with professionals across the spectrum of care.
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