Department of Health

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Ill and disabled children

Consultation on a national framework for assessing children and young people's continuing care

Published: 02/10/2008

We would welcome your views, by 31 December 2008, on proposals for a national framework for assessing children and young people’s continuing care. The framework is intended to assist primary care trusts to apply a consistent and transparent approach to assessing the healthcare needs of children and young people and to work jointly with local authorities to provide services in the light of those needs.

Aiming High for Disabled Children (AHDC)

Aiming High for Disabled Children: better support for families, was published in May 2007, following a joint review of disabled children’s services by the Department of Children, Schools and Families and HM Treasury. The implementation of the review is being managed through joint arrangements between the Department of Health (DH) the Department for Children, Schools and Family (DCSF) and their delivery partners in the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP), SHAs, the NHS, Government Offices and local authority children's services.

The arrangements include a Ministerial Implementation Group chaired by Andrew Adonis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools and Ivan Lewis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Health. The Group’s membership includes a range of stakeholders representing PCTs, LAs, children’s voluntary organisations, service users and parents. The programme incorporates a number of workstreams, eg palliative care, transition and improving data.

Palliative care

Better Care Better Lives cover

A new Palliative Care Strategy was published February 2008. The policy puts palliative care at the centre of local children’s service provision and sets out expectations for improving choice, access and continuity of care. It focuses on building a sustainable service of palliative care networks and support for community nursing teams including the extension of the Diana Nurse programme.

Short break provision for disabled children and their families

January 14 2008 saw the announcement of a three-year transformation in short break services for disabled children. Twenty-one local authorities, working with PCTs, launched the first wave of a £370m investment to provide more disabled children with enjoyable and valuable experiences away from their parents and carers, who in turn will benefit from a break in caring. The programme will extend to all of England from 2009.

21 July 2008

Guidance has now been published to support the provision of Short Breaks over the next three years. It should be read in conjuction with other resources for the Aiming High for Disabled Children (AHDC programme). PCTs should consider this guidance in shaping their response to the 2008-09 NHS Operating Framework priorities. There is also a cover letter outlining associated funding annoucements.

Disease management

Pro-active disease management can make a real difference to patients with a single condition or a range of problems that threaten their health and well-being.  This part of the section on long term conditions includes the web-based Disease Management Information Toolkit (DMIT), which will support decision-makers, commissioners and deliverers of care for people with long term conditions to gain a better understanding of those conditions which are having the greatest impact across their localities. A DMIT data module on paediatric asthma was published on 22 August 2008.

Transition from children's to adult services

Further information about transition for children and young people with complex conditions

Investment to improve services for disabled children

Letter from Ministers to local authority and primary care trust chief executives on priorities for disabled children's services, including investment in short breaks, palliative care, transition support and access to childcare.

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