Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of specialist (a) paediatric and (b) transitional healthcare services for teenagers in the South West.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. This involves ensuring that children receive the appropriate care and support whenever they need it.

Supporting children and young people as they transition into adulthood, especially those with long-term or complex conditions and/or vulnerabilities, including those with mental health issues, is a priority in the South West, and work is underway in some National Health Service trusts.

Currently, the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust’s paediatric department delivers care to children up to the age of 16 years old. Work in some pathways, such as eating disorders and diabetes, has started to address transitional arrangements. A review of the transition arrangements in place for children over 16 years old is underway with the local community and acute hospital trust, as this has been identified as an area for improvement by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board.

In the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England committed to delivering a service model for zero to 25 year olds where appropriate, to enhance children and young people’s experience of health, continuity of care, and outcomes, and their experience of the transition between services.

A national transition framework is currently awaiting publication to help local areas set up this model, or to strengthen an existing one. The principles of age-appropriate services set out in this document apply to young adults receiving care for the first time, as well as those already on a transition pathway.

While this framework focuses on the broad principles of transition, future work will focus on specific considerations and conditions. Training is also being developed for healthcare staff to develop their skills in providing the best standard of care.

Improving transitional care for young people is a South West regional priority, and the national transition framework and core competencies, once published, will support integrated care boards with implementation.

The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, set to be published later this year, will outline the broader measures to shift England’s health and care systems toward preventing ill health. The Department will also publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care that patients, including teenagers, need when they need it.