Charity to inform child health strategy

By Sarah Cooper Wednesday, 13 February 2008

The just-launched Association for Young People's Health (AYPH) is to help the government push ahead with its forthcoming child health strategy.

Sheila Shribman speaking at the launch of the AYPH. Credit: Paul Tennant/Georgina Wooler

Dr Sheila Shribman, national clinical director for children, young people and maternity services at the Department of Health, has asked the AYPH to sit on the stakeholder group that will create the strategy promised in The Children's Plan.

Speaking at the AYPH's launch event last week, Shribman said she wanted the charity to tell the government what the strategy should include. She told delegates: "We are building up the current policy and taking forward the concepts outlined in The Children's Plan and the national service framework."

She said the department was currently considering what the strategy's key issues should be and its relative focus on prevention and early intervention, early years and parenting.

The AYPH's launch also saw public health minister Dawn Primarolo announce plans to spend £26.8m on improving access to contraceptives for young people.

She told CYP Now: "£12.8m will go directly to primary care trusts to improve services. Money will be particularly focused on access to contraception. The remaining £14m will go towards pilot projects looking at innovation and delivery - making sure services are getting through to young people."

The money will be available from April and the Department of Health is currently in talks with the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV to decide what it wants from the pilot schemes.

Primarolo added: "We are planning a campaign to highlight the range of contraceptive methods available to women. We also need to continue to focus on ensuring clear information on sexual health is available to young people."

Gill Frances, chair of the Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group, welcomed the cash injection but said more work needed to be done to encourage doctors to offer the full range of contraception.

"Many GPs only prescribe the pill and that does not help," she said. "We need to get GPs up to scratch and for young people to understand that it's their right to have these services."

- www.youngpeopleshealth.org.uk.