July: A new exhibition and the GMC

 

I can highly recommend the current exhibition Child Hood –The Real Event,showing at The Royal Academy of Arts, 6 Burlington Gardens, Piccadilly Circus ; on until July 22^nd.

It is a visual explosion   ,interestingly curated  and involving the work of 1,049  children and young people who have all experienced a dark side to growing up which we would often prefer not to be reminded of. The  children have produced some strikingly original images and visual art which is both disturbing and sad but  ultimately uplifting.

Please spread the word and visit the exhibition if you can.

  http://www.kidsco.org.uk/news-events/2012/child-hood-the-real-event

Another news item to flag up is the launch of the GMC’s new guidelines : Protecting Children and Young People. The document centre stages the well-being of CYP for all doctors –regardless of whether or not they are directly involved in the care of patients 18 years and under and is an important landmark in improving the care of younger patients.

With best wishes

Jane

August post

An early summer break in gorgeous cultural Prague

Almost time for holidays but before we unwind the CYP Health Outcome Forum has just published the report of its consultation process

http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/07/cyp-report/

This is an important document which  I encourage you to read. It is a bold statement on the parlous state of health care for CYP in the UK which builds on the earlier work of Sir Ian Kennedy (2010).

Key points are

• ·         The recognition that no mandatory training for GP registrars has ill-served CYP who are 22% of the population and visit general practice at least 2x pa from aged 10 yrs and upto 4/5 x aged 15-19 yrs

• ·         They state that the current QOF is ‘a completely inadequate reflection of the workload of general practice and the potential quality gains that could be achieved ‘ (p. 15)

• ·         Aggregating data into ages sets of 0-19 years is unhelpful

• ·         Integrated (seamless  care should be the gold standard

• ·         Young people need age appropriate services which should adhere to the You’re Welcome criteria

Recommendations

• ·         Extended and enhanced training in line with the RCGP bid

• ·         NICE and the NHS Commissioning Board to expand and prioritise the Quality Standards work programme as it applies to CYP

• ·         All GPs to be trained to work competently with YP

• ·         All NHS organizations to include CYP feedback in the evaluations of their services

I commend all those who took part in the production of this excellent report. It offers clear direction for our future travel in order to make general practice more youth-friendly

Enjoy your summer break!

Jane