Additional resourcing of children’s health services urgently needed

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has warned that children’s health services are facing a ‘daily struggle’ to meet standards of high quality, safe and consistent care.

Facing the Future Audit 2017 urges the government to expand the consultant workforce to help units increase consultant presence at peak times and improve the standard of hospital care. The report recommends that in the UK, 465 full time equivalent paediatric trainees are recruited at ST1 (trainees in their first year of training) level every year for the next five years which will help achieve the consultant expansion required.

Data collated by the organisation also found that, at present, a paediatric consultant is present in the hospital during times of self-identified peak activity in 38.7 per cent of units on weekdays, while, on weekends, a paediatric consultant is present in the hospital during periods of self-identified peak activity in 28.6 per cent of units. Furthermore, across all training rotas, 30.1 per cent of paediatric units have the recommended number of staff to manage care.

Therefore, it urges the government to centrally fund an increase to the number of paediatric trainee places to ensure at least 465 full time equivalent trainees enter each year of training across the UK and prioritise adequate resource to fund the workforce.

Carol Ewing, vice president for Health Policy, the RCPCH, said: “It is down to the sheer dedication of our doctors that children are being treated as safely as they possibly can on paediatric wards in the UK but the risk of ‘burn out’ is all too real. To improve the care delivered by units, it is vitally important they meet each and every one of the standards set out in this audit. However, as we have seen from our hospital visits, units are only going to be able to do this is they have the resources in place to support them.

“In order to meet three key standards – children seen by a consultant within 14 hours of admission, two consultant led hand overs and presence at peak times - paediatric departments need increased consultant presence from around 8am to 10pm. The growth in the paediatric workforce is crucial if this is to happen.”