CYP Now - Editorial: Children's services at the heart of local health

People working at the forefront of establishing joined-up services for children through children's centres, extended schools and joint planning have long complained of the difficulty of involving health services. Too much inertia, too many conflicting priorities and targets, and too many people to co-ordinate, especially where authorities have to deal with a patchwork of primary care trusts.

That may be about to change. The health and social care white paperpublished last week is peppered with mentions of Every Child Matters,the Children Act 2004 and the Youth Matters green paper. Children'scentres and schools are at the heart of the Government's vision forcommunity health services, and of preventative work focusing on diet'smoking, sexual health, ante-natal and post-natal care and the like.

Of course, there is quibbling over detail. Some experts have questionedthe value of the proposed "life checks", for instance.

But if the proposals in the white paper become law, then it could bejust the push needed to establish real collaboration between localauthorities and health services, based on the pioneering work done inareas such as Brighton and Redbridge.

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