South Yorkshire’s Integrated Care System (ICS) has joined a Collaborative with the UK’s largest children’s charity, Barnardo’s, and the UCL Institute of Health Equity (IHE) to improve the health of children and young people in the area and ensure they have a say on how services are run in their communities.
The NHS authority for the region will be working with Barnardo’s and the UCL IHE over the next three years to devise and co-design a Children and Young People’s Health Equity Framework. This will set out new and innovative ways to overcome the barriers which can prevent children and young people from having a basic level of physical health and mental wellbeing.
The three organisations will work together to develop new tools, resources and programmes to provide practical solutions to ensure children and young people in the region are not held back by social and environmental factors which can affect health. This includes income, housing or educational status.
Rukshana Kapasi, Director of Health for Barnardo’s, said: “We are delighted to be launching this pioneering Collaborative to address the barriers which people face in order to achieve good physical and mental health. We have long known that poor health at a young age can have a negative impact on people’s opportunities in later life. The current pressures on the NHS, alongside the cost-of-living crisis, is just making matters worse.
“Through this Collaborative, we hope to identify and provide practical solutions to these issues in a way which embeds the voices of children and young people into all we do. We look forward to helping to ensure that children and young people can any overcome negative circumstances they may be born into and enjoy happy and healthy futures.”
Barnardo’s champions children and young people to ensure they have the best possible start in life by offering services throughout the UK which are tailored to meet specific needs. South Yorkshire’s ICS was chosen by Barnardo’s out of 16 applicants from across the country to be part of its new Collaborative.
Dr Nicola Jay, Clinical Lead for the South Yorkshire Children and Young People’s Alliance, said: “In South Yorkshire we have a proud heritage of coal mining, factory workers and a rich diversity of people. However, economic and
population changes now mean that 40% of our children and young people are living with poverty. We also know that many children living in poverty will be diagnosed with chronic disease, such as diabetes, in later life.
“Being part of this Collaborative will allow us to better understand our population, where there is need and what good provision looks like. By viewing our services through the eyes of our children and their families, can we help to make meaningful change happen. We know that building back communities is essential for developing a positive healthy heritage to pass on to the next generation. So, we’re looking forward to working with Barnardo’s and all partners to bring about real change.”
The Collaborative, which brings together senior stakeholders from across the healthcare sector1, will be chaired by Professor Sir Michael Marmot. He is the Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity and has been a leading authority on health inequalities for more than 50 years.
Professor Sir Michael Marmot said: “Long-term increases in child poverty, the cost-of-living crisis and the unaffordability of childcare all work to make a healthy childhood more elusive for some families. Within these circumstances, committed action by Barnardo's and Integrated Care Systems at a local level will make a difference to children’s lives now as well as their prospects for the future. Our aim is to provide evidence of what works so that it can change practice and improve health and well-being of all our children.”
For more information visit: Children and Young People’s Health Equity Collaborative | Barnardo's (barnardos.org.uk)