Our ambition to achieve health equity
Achieving health equity is about guaranteeing good health and wellbeing for all children, regardless of circumstance.
The Children and Young People’s Health Equity Collaborative (CHEC) is a partnership between Barnardo’s, the UCL Institute of Health Equity and three Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) - Birmingham and Solihull, Cheshire and Merseyside, and South Yorkshire - to shape the way ICSs create health and address health inequalities among children and young people.
The need to do this now
Health systems across the UK are facing significant challenges to meet the needs of children, young people and families and there are wide disparities in health outcomes and inequalities.
- Many health challenges and inequalities have foundations in childhood and are already evident at birth, leading to differing trajectories and outcomes across the course of a person's life.
- The social determinants of health describe the social and environmental conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, which shape and drive health outcomes. These include discriminatory practices and are driven by structural inequalities in access to money, power and resources. Unfair distribution of these resources creates avoidable health inequalities (WHO, 2008).
- Good quality, equitable and accessible healthcare is one determinant of good health but most determinants of good health lie outside of the healthcare system. These include access to good-quality living conditions, experiences and services during early childhood; good-quality education and opportunities for lifelong learning; households having sufficient income, adequate and affordable housing; and living in a connected and inclusive communities in healthy environments (Marmot, et al. 2010. Marmot, et al. 2020).
- We have known for some time that people living in more deprived circumstances have less timely access to health and care support than their peers.
- Young people and families are often not able to access services at key times of need due to long waiting lists and gaps in mental health services resulting in a huge acute cost to the system from preventable diseases and illness. These concerns are likely to rise as the 4 million children living in poverty in the UK (30% of all children) are expected to increase to 5 million by the end of the decade yet targets to reduce child poverty have been abolished (RCPCH, 2022).
Integrated Care Systems face twin challenges: making sure people in their communities are healthy, and making sure the health and care system is as effective as possible.
Integrated Care Board funding allocations are currently focused on older people and babies, who often need more medical interventions and care. However, investing in early intervention and prevention will help give babies, children and young people the best start in life, prevent ill health and prevent them being the high need service users of the future.
Barnardo’s is investing in a three-year programme to develop the tools and the solutions for this.
How we work with our partners to change the system
Launched in February 2023, the Children and Young People’s Health Equity Collaborative uses data and insight to understand the challenges facing children’s health at a local level.
The Collaborative sees action on the social determinants of health as essential in improving health outcomes among babies, children and young people and reducing inequalities in health.
Together with our Healthy Equity Champions group, we have developed the Child Health Equity Framework to underpin action for achieving greater health equity in babies, children and young people’s health and wellbeing.
The framework, which sets out the key drivers of health, will be used by our three ICS partners to guide the analysis of data and the development of indicators to assess and monitor health inequalities and support the development of interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of babies, children and young people in their local areas.
Our Health Equity Champions are a group of children and young people that have been kindly volunteering their time to influence the work of the Children and Young People's Health Equity Collaborative. They have been involved with the programme since October 2023, and already, their insight has greatly shaped the work we've done so far. Between them, they have a wide variety of voice and influence experience to inform the Collaborative programme, and we're excited to see how they'll help shape our work going forward.
Meet our Health Equity Champions!
Sofie (she/they)
- I’m from Barnsley and I'm a Young Commissioner at the Children and Young People's Empowerment Project (Chilypep).
- I decided to be a Health Equity Champion because I want to help people and make a difference. I'm passionate about advocating for positive mental health and ensuring everyone gets the opportunities that they deserve.
- I think that my role has allowed me to learn about society and the inequalities we face. I have gained confidence and I’ve been able to meet lots of amazing like-minded people.
- I enjoy creative writing and I go to Barnsley Young Writers. I'm also a volunteer with Voice for Darton and Kexborough where I do regular litter picks. I like sewing, I love to read and I'm a beginner roller skater. I’m interested in climate change and passionate about trying to live sustainably.
Jia (they/them)
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- I wanted to take part in the Collaborative to help reduce some of the health inequalities young people face as well as to help make information more accessible for young people.
- The changes I would make in society to help improve health are to listen to children and young people and ask them about what they need and not make decisions based on what you think they need. This would include increased funding for mental and physical health systems, training to remove prejudice and stereotypes, more projects around transitions to support young people and more developments within the 0-25 pathways.
- In my spare time I enjoy reading and spending time with my pets!
*Jia chose to not share a photo of themself on this occasion
Ester (she/her)
- I’m from Sheffield and have been involved with and supported by the Children and Young People's Empowerment Project (Chilypep) for around 7 years now.
- I wanted to be involved in being a Champion as I’m passionate about inclusion, diversity and empowerment and recognise that young people’s healthcare is still inadequate.
- I feel like myself and other Champions have gained insight and perspective into what health inequalities look like and how young people’s experiences of this are reflected across the country. This is such a unique role and I’ve loved being a part of shaping the view on health inequalities and how to positively change it.
- In my spare time, I engage in a lot of voluntary work within Sheffield Health and Social Care, and sharing my lived experience of neurodivergence and mental illness to support others. I’m always trying to spread awareness on queer inclusion and have been involved in steering groups that promote this. I’m also into my art and create lino prints which is a great creative outlet for me.
Kian (he/him)
- I wanted to get involved as a Health Equity Champion because I wanted to make a difference by speaking for others who felt their voice wasn’t heard and using my own personal experience in the healthcare system.
- As a Champion, you can speak to professionals and people in power to express your issues and try and change various problems to improve the system. It certainly keeps you on your toes!
- I'm a keen swimmer and am desperate to improve the health system.
Nahida (she/her)
- From growing up in a diverse city, Birmingham, and having gone through my own adversities in the healthcare system, I wanted to ensure that all young people have access to equal opportunities in the healthcare system and equitable care, so that young people can flourish and have the best start in life.
- Being a Health Equity Champion is an incredible platform which really paves the way for empowering young people. It's a great catalyst for tackling some of the most prominent challenges of the wider determinants of health by continuing to bridge the gap in health inequalities and ensuring that no young person is left behind.
- I currently work as a healthcare assistant in endoscopy, but in my free time I love to bake. My personal favourite is upside down pineapple cake! I have also recently taken up crochet, although I'm not very good yet!
Zaara (she/her)
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- My interest in medicine as a career prompted me to gain a deeper understanding of the NHS as a healthcare system. Through this exploration, I was made aware of issues such as the ‘postcode lottery’ where healthcare quality is dependent on where you live. Therefore, when I heard about Health Equity Champions and their initiative to tackle this problem, I was eager to join this group where I could help make a positive change to improve our system.
- Reading and playing video games are some of my favourite ways to enjoy myself!
*Zaara chose to not share a photo of herself on this occasion
Emily (she/her)
- I'm from Cheshire and Merseyside and I'm involved in the Beyond programme.
- I wanted to be a Health Equity Champion because I'm passionate about youth voice and giving children and young people an opportunity to get involved in the services they are using. I love using social media to share my passions with other people to help educate on different topics based on my lived experience.
Nel (he/they)
- Hi, I’m Nel, and I’m a Health Equity Champion in Cheshire and Merseyside with the Beyond Programme.
- I wanted in get involved in this role to help better represent the voice for young people and do what I can with my knowledge. I enjoy Air Cadets, riding my bike and sleeping!
- I love the fact I’m able to have this opportunity and hope it will inspire my friends to also go into youth advocacy.
Bella (she/her)
- I’m Bella, I’m 18 years old and I live in Merseyside.
- I have volunteered for the Camhelions, a youth participation group who work to improve Sefton Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), for the past 4 years. I am also a Patient Governor at Alder Hey.
- I am incredibly passionate about ensuring all children and young people get the best start in life and feel safe, heard, and valued.
- In my spare time, I enjoy playing football, doing maths, and spending time with my family.
Erin (she/her)
- Hi, my name is Erin! I'm 18 years old and I study level 2 health and social care at college which I absolutely love.
- I love helping others and supporting those that have extra needs. I hope to one day be able to study and train as a play therapist so I can help and support others.
- Thank you for letting me take this opportunity and I hope you enjoyed reading about me!
Children and young people at the heart of the Collaborative
The voice, opinions and views of children and young people are central to all the Collaborative’s work. The Child Health Equity framework has been developed with direct input from children and young people local to the three ICSs.
More than 300 children and young people across our ICS regions have shared an insight into what health means to them, sharing their lived experience and the factors which influence their lives and wellbeing. Responses from this work have allowed an understanding of the key views and priorities of children and young people involved. The findings from this engagement have been incorporated into the Child Health Equity Framework to ensure children and young people’s views and lived experiences inform and are embedded in it.
Stay up to date with our work
If you have any queries regarding the Collaborative or if you would like to receive the Health Equity Collaborative newsletter, please email [email protected].
A previous edition of the newsletter can be downloaded below.