Rukshana Kapasi explores why early intervention is so essential in supporting prevention and promoting child health and wellbeing
“Crisis” is a word that is increasingly associated with health in this country.
If you type “health crisis UK” into Google, around 555 million results are returned, including news stories and scholarly articles chronicling the state of health services in the UK.
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It’s not just the systems and services that are in critical condition. Too often, patients are reaching a crisis point before they receive any interventions.
While there is growing recognition of the need to balance immediate crisis responses with proactive, early intervention – particularly for babies, young people, and families – the reality is that we’re still in fire-fighting mode for much of the time.
Early help is vital – both to prevent children and young people from reaching crisis, and to promote good health for their future lives. Many health inequalities begin in childhood, influenced by factors including social determinants and congenital conditions. Addressing these as they emerge can significantly improve health trajectories, prevent chronic conditions, and reduce reliance on healthcare services later in life.
As an integrated health and social care charity, Barnardo’s is increasingly working to deliver services that support prevention, encourage early intervention and promote child health and wellbeing.
And we want to recognise innovation that seeks to do the same. That’s why Barnardo’s has partnered with HSJ for the Early Intervention and Prevention for Children, Young People, and Families Award – a new category for this year’s awards. The work we do prioritises early help and often addresses health inequalities.
Our MUMMA partnership offers practical help, emotional support, and candid advice for Black, Asian and Mixed-ethnicity mothers and mothers-to-be in an area where preterm births, miscarriage, and termination rates are notably higher for Black people than for White people.
A recent Barnardo’s report outlined how social prescribing, with adequate funding, could make a real difference to the one in five children and young people with a probable mental health disorder in the UK.
Crucially, it’s affordable – every £1 spent on social prescribing delivers long-term benefits of around £1.80 through the positive impact it can have.
Our LINK service in Cumbria supports children and young people with mental health difficulties who don’t meet the thresholds for child and adolescent mental health services. Children’s centres and family hubs can provide direct health and wellbeing interventions like breastfeeding and nutrition, or mental health and wellbeing support, as well as indirect benefits promoting parent/child bonding through play services and parenting advice.
Integrated care systems have the potential to help shift the dial towards prevention and improved child health, but they need national policy support to do it
Our report It Takes a Village, found that for every £1 invested in family hubs, there is a saving of approximately £2.60 to the state.
Of course, the level of crisis across our healthcare sector is entrenched and complex, and can’t be fixed by individual organisations or trusts, no matter how innovative their ways of working.
The key determinants of health are shaped by social and environmental factors, and therefore cannot be shaped solely by the NHS or the Department for Health and Social Care.
The work of Barnardo’s in schools and communities demonstrates the importance of prevention and early intervention in these settings.
Integrated care systems have the potential to help shift the dial towards prevention and improved child health, but they need national policy support to do it.
But a cross-government strategy for children and young people is desperately needed – bringing together child poverty, housing, education, and welfare as well as health – supported by sustained investment in prevention and early intervention, including family hubs in every community and a national strategy for social prescribing.
We hope the award entries will reveal just how this could be done. We look forward to seeing entries which shine a light on real examples of how early intervention and prevention can ensure children, young people, and families live happy and healthy lives both now and in their futures.
Click here to enter the Early Intervention and Prevention for Children, Young People, and Families category in the HSJ Awards 2024.
