Health resources

If your forum requires additional support in engaging your local health partners, contact our parent participation adviser in your region.

In this article

Publications useful for engaging with health

• Introduction to the NHS [PDF] – a briefing that provides an overview of the main organisations and jargon, with guidance on how forums can start to influence this locally.
• NHS constitution – the NHS constitution sets out the principles and values of the NHS and is where the ‘duty to involve’ comes from. It sets out rights to which patients, public and staff are entitled, and pledges which the NHS is committed to achieve.

NHS Long Term Plan

The NHS Long Term Plan – longtermplan.nhs.uk

Full document or Summary Document

The Interim People Plan – the draft workforce development plan

Implementing Universal Personalised Care and NHS England Personalised Care webpages – england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/

Social Prescribing Summary Guide

Explaining Primary Care Networks, from the Kings Fund

Patient and public participation in commissioning health and care: statutory guidance for CCGs and NHS England [PDF].

Involving people in their own health and care: statutory guidance for clinical commissioning groups and NHS England [PDF] – also aimed at engaging parent carers in their children’s care and treatment decisions.

Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school [PDF] – statutory guidance about the support that pupils with medical conditions should receive at school.

RCN publication – Meeting health needs in educational and other community settings – Guidance for Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members who have a responsibility to plan for, or are required to safely meet the health care needs for, Children and Young People (CYP) in various settings.

Briefing on The Children & Families Act 2014 for health practitioners – some of the key issues for health practitioners in implementing the reforms from the Council for Disabled Children.

Requirements to provide health advice within six weeks [PDF] -a factsheet from the Council for Disabled Children.

Designated Medical/Clinical Officer Handbook -a resource from the Council for Disabled Children.

Resources supporting work with GPs

• Make GP practices more welcoming [PDF] – practical suggestions for GP practices to make it easier for disabled children to visit their GP.
• Health services for disabled children and young people [PDF] – explains roles of different health professionals and sources of information to assist health professionals in coordinating care.
• Read how the parent carer forum in Rutland met with GP practice managers [PDF], which led to improvements for disabled children and young people visiting their GP.

Useful and interesting publications relevant to forums

• Impact of austerity on services for disabled children – report of a Europe-wide survey that took place in winter/spring 2017 and looked at whether austerity measures had impacted on services for disabled children and the professionals providing those services.

Ways to understand parent carer experiences you can adapt and use

• Health survey [PDF] – questionnaire used to gather the experiences of parents of disabled children accessing local health services.
• ‘Speed dating’ form [PDF] – useful method to help managers hear first hand from parents their experience of services.
• Listening to parents’ experiences [PDF] – an easy way to gather people’s experiences of a service at a focus group and identify how it could be improved.   

Resources supporting participation in hospital settings

Read how parents worked with hospitals to improve the experience for disabled children in 

• Bristol [PDF]
• Cambridge [PDF]
• Birmingham [PDF] 
• Manchester [PDF]
• Computerised hospital passport – Bristol Children’s hospital.

Health webinars

• Learning Disability GP Annual Health Checks for over 14’s. Presented by Lynn Hoppenbrouwers, Strategic Health Lead, Ros Luff, Bromley Parent Carer Voice and Mary Busk, NHS England/Improvement Family Carer Advisor. Download the presentation from the Webinar.
• ‘Transforming Care‘ presented by Sarah Thomas, Contact Associate and Maureen Morris Co-Chair of the NNPCF and North East Regional Representative, this webinar gives an overview of transforming care in England including; The impact that forums can have in working with health and local authority partners in their local area, How forums can build partnerships with Schools and local parents and carers, The future – looking at the new Transformation Programme and more. Download the presentation from the Webinar.
• Engaging with Health –  how Contact can help parent carer forums‘ presented by Lynn Hoppenbrouwers Contact Strategic Health Lead. Download the presentation from the Webinar
• ‘Transforming Care for children and young people with learning disabilities, autism or both‘, presented by Mary Busk, NNPCF Steering Group member for London and Sue North, the children’s social care and education adviser for the Transforming Care programme. Download the presentation from the Webinar
• ‘First steps towards understanding and working with the health system.’ With Contact associate Anna Gill and Rachel Trueman from South Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum, this webinar includes: a bird’s eye view of how the health system is structured; an introduction to commissioning within the health system; identifying key levers for change within health and much more. 
• ‘Improving health services for disabled children’
• ‘Participation and Health – Next Steps‘