I've been hearing about a National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services for months. Just what is it? Remember the Kennedy Inquiry into paediatric cardiac surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary? Between 1984 and 1995, almost 35 babies under one died and as many as 160 suffered irreversible damage in the operating theatre.
The inquiry report broadened its remit to look at the way in which the NHS itself functioned. The gist of this was that children were given very low priority in the health service.
And this is meant to make children's health needs more visible? It's one way of moving forward. In early 2001, the Government announced a national service framework (NSF) for children's services. The Department of Health set up a children's taskforce, and eight external working groups came together to develop it. The acute module, focused on the needs of children in hospital, was published in April 2003 along with emerging findings for the rest of the standards. The complete NSF was published on 15 September 2004.
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