Declining health and wellbeing and deteriorating services

In the last issue, I talked about SAPHNA's collaboration with The QNI and College of Medicine which led to a roundtable event which took place in December. This launched the campaign for ‘a school nurse in every school.’ The response was humbling. It brought together over 30 strategic partners, drawn from across the health and care systems. All made pledges about how they will contribute to the campaign. The full report will be available via the SAPHNA website by the time you are reading this article.

All agreed that there is a clear and worsening crisis in the physical, emotional, and mental health of England's children and young people. School nursing roles and services have been eroded in recent years and in many instances, resources are now insufficient to deliver the Government's National Healthy Child Programme. Children and young people's health must be made a societal priority if our nation is to flourish. And the specific contribution of school nurses to the nation's health must also be amplified, both within local communities and at a national level.