In 2010, the government responded to compelling evidence that early intervention by health visitors and other healthcare practitioners can have a huge effect on health and wider social outcomes – it said it would increase the number of health visitors and transform the service they deliver.
ALAMY
More visits
The best start Viv Bennett looks ahead to a week of action – including podcasts and Twitter chats – which aims to galvanize efforts to improve children’s life chances
SUMMARY
Giving children and young people the best start in life is vital for individuals, families and society. Investment in pregnancy care, early childhood and education makes a huge difference to health and life chances. Nurses, midwives and allied health professionals are well placed to have a significant impact at the key stages of our development. Health visitors and school nurses, in particular, who lead the national Healthy Child Programme in local communities, have a special role in helping families to give
children the best start and support them as they grow up. To make the ‘best start’ a reality for all our children, we need to share and build on good practice and address the inequalities that persist.
Framework
A special week of action beginning November 17 will celebrate and share the work that nurses and midwives are doing to support parents and help children have the best start in life. Author Viv Bennett is director of nursing, Department of Health and Public Health England
The Department of Health (DH) and Public Health England’s framework for personalised care and population health (tinyurl. com/n3yxaqr) provides facts, evidence and actions to underpin our work, from understanding and acting on the wider determinants of health to making every contact count. It includes a model for maximising our contribution in the ‘vital first 1,001 days’. Shortly, we will launch a model for ‘healthy two year olds’ – a vital time to ensure children are ready to benefit from education in the earliest days at school.
Families and children across the country are now benefiting enormously from these changes. There are more families visited during the vital antenatal period and increased coverage for two-and-a-half-year reviews. Health visitors have also been empowered to gain additional skills and create national champions in priority areas such as domestic violence and maternal mental health. The school nursing programme has made great strides to transform the service based on best evidence and the views of parents and young people. We want to share the excellent work of our profession and partners and use what we have learned to maximise the contribution of all nurses and midwives to the lives of children and young people. From November 17-21, the DH and Public Health England will host a week of action on supporting parents and helping children and young people to have the best start in life. This focus on protecting and improving health is important for all nurses, not just those with public health roles. The week will feature articles, blogs, podcasts, webinars and Twitter chats by those who are making a difference. A selection of upcoming events is at rcnpublishing.com/r/ child-health. I hope you will be able to join us NS For more information, go to vivbennett.blog.gov.uk or follow @VivJBennett on Twitter and use the hashtag #PHPCYPWeek
NURSING STANDARD 12other :: voluses 29 without no 11 ::permission. 2014 23 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Oct 11, 2015. For personalnovember use only. No Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
ALAMY
More visits
The best start Viv Bennett looks ahead to a week of action – including podcasts and Twitter chats – which aims to galvanize efforts to improve children’s life chances
SUMMARY
Giving children and young people the best start in life is vital for individuals, families and society. Investment in pregnancy care, early childhood and education makes a huge difference to health and life chances. Nurses, midwives and allied health professionals are well placed to have a significant impact at the key stages of our development. Health visitors and school nurses, in particular, who lead the national Healthy Child Programme in local communities, have a special role in helping families to give
children the best start and support them as they grow up. To make the ‘best start’ a reality for all our children, we need to share and build on good practice and address the inequalities that persist.
Framework
A special week of action beginning November 17 will celebrate and share the work that nurses and midwives are doing to support parents and help children have the best start in life. Author Viv Bennett is director of nursing, Department of Health and Public Health England
The Department of Health (DH) and Public Health England’s framework for personalised care and population health (tinyurl. com/n3yxaqr) provides facts, evidence and actions to underpin our work, from understanding and acting on the wider determinants of health to making every contact count. It includes a model for maximising our contribution in the ‘vital first 1,001 days’. Shortly, we will launch a model for ‘healthy two year olds’ – a vital time to ensure children are ready to benefit from education in the earliest days at school.
Families and children across the country are now benefiting enormously from these changes. There are more families visited during the vital antenatal period and increased coverage for two-and-a-half-year reviews. Health visitors have also been empowered to gain additional skills and create national champions in priority areas such as domestic violence and maternal mental health. The school nursing programme has made great strides to transform the service based on best evidence and the views of parents and young people. We want to share the excellent work of our profession and partners and use what we have learned to maximise the contribution of all nurses and midwives to the lives of children and young people. From November 17-21, the DH and Public Health England will host a week of action on supporting parents and helping children and young people to have the best start in life. This focus on protecting and improving health is important for all nurses, not just those with public health roles. The week will feature articles, blogs, podcasts, webinars and Twitter chats by those who are making a difference. A selection of upcoming events is at rcnpublishing.com/r/ child-health. I hope you will be able to join us NS For more information, go to vivbennett.blog.gov.uk or follow @VivJBennett on Twitter and use the hashtag #PHPCYPWeek
NURSING STANDARD 12other :: voluses 29 without no 11 ::permission. 2014 23 Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Oct 11, 2015. For personalnovember use only. No Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
