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The Standard for Hospital Services is the first module, published in advance of the full NSF, in response to the concerns raised in the Kennedy Report. It champions a central recommendation of the Report, and a principle of the NHS Plan, in advocating that services should be designed and delivered around the needs of users of services.

This will be achieved through inter-agency partnerships and by empowering children and their families through full involvement in choices about their care.

The hospital standard, and later the full NSF, will aim to ensure that there are seamless care pathways through services delivered for children and young people.

 As well as care delivered around their needs, the standard states that children and their families should be able to expect hospital services that provide effective and safe care in a child-friendly environment. This means clinical governance systems focussing on the particular needs of children and young people, that staff caring for them should have the appropriate training and skills to provide high quality care, and that hospital environments should be safe, healthy and friendly places for children and young people. 

• Download Getting the right start: National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services. Part 1: Standard for hospital services (PDF, 201K)
• Complete list of Children's NSF documents