Children, young people and families :: West Yorkshire Health & Care Partnership

This website does not provide any out of hours, day services or emergency services. If you are concerned for your child’s or families health please use the following guidance.

GPs assess, treat and manage a whole range of health problems. They also provide health education, give vaccinations and carry out simple surgical procedures. Your GP will arrange a referral to a hospital specialist should you need it.

All children should be registered with a GP. Anyone in England can register for free with a GP surgery. You do not need proof of address or immigration status, ID or an NHS number.

How to find your local GP.

You have a choice of service:

Doctors/GPs can treat many illnesses that do not warrant a visit to A&E.
Help your child to understand – watch this video with them about visiting the GP or going to a walk in centre

For information on common childhood illnesses go to What is wrong with my child?

If you’re not sure which NHS service you need, call 111. An adviser will ask you questions to assess your symptoms and then give you the advice you need, or direct you straightaway to the best service for you in your area.

Please note, the online version of NHS 111 is only recommended for children over the age of five. If your child is under five years old, please phone 111.

NHS 111 can also direct you to your nearest urgent treatment centre (minor injuries unit or walk-in centre).

Find your local urgent treatment centre.

When to visit an urgent treatment centre.

Use NHS 111 if you are unsure what to do next, have any questions about a condition or treatment or require information about local health services.

For information on common childhood illnesses go to What is wrong with my child?

Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments provide vital care for life-threatening emergencies, such as:

loss of consciousness
breathing difficulties
severe bleeding that cannot be stopped
major trauma such as road traffic collisions

If you’re not sure it’s an emergency, call 111 for advice.

Many visits to A&E and calls to 999 could be resolved by any other NHS services.
If your child's condition is not critical, choose another service to get them the best possible treatment.
Help your child to understand – watch this video with them about going to A&E or riding in an ambulance

You can also visit our Healthier Together website - a tool that gives consistent, accurate and trustworthy healthcare advice to parents, carers, young people and professionals.

The health of children and young people is determined by far more than healthcare

Household income, education, housing, stable and loving family life and a healthy environment all significantly influence young people’s health and life chances.

Children account for 23% (570,000) of the total West Yorkshire and Harrogate population.

Over recent years we have seen improvements across our area in school readiness and the number of 16-17 year olds in education, employment or training. But we know too many of our children and young people still live with poor emotional wellbeing /mental health, in poverty, experience physical health problems or unhealthy environments.

Our vision for our Children, Young People and Families Programme is:

To close the gap in health and well-being outcomes for all children and young people across West Yorkshire and Harrogate, irrespective of where they were born, where they live and go to school.
All children and young people will have the best start in life and the support and healthcare needed to enable them to be safe from harm and to enjoy healthy lifestyles, to do well in learning and have skills for life
The voice of the child and young person will be at the heart of everything we do.

To support us to achieve our vision we have seven priority areas of focus for our Programme:

Acute paediatrics (hospital services for children)
Best start in life and narrowing the obesity gap/healthy weight
Family resilience and early help
Complex needs and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Long term health conditions
Mental health, learning disabilities and autism
End of life care.

We are in the process of defining and agreeing our objectives and outcomes for a number of these priority areas to look at where we can work together to ensure children, young people and families get the right support at the right time and in the right place.

Many of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate priority programmes focus on children, young people and families and we are working in partnership with a number of programmes, including but not limited to the Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Programme, the Maternity Programme, the Improving Population Health Programme (tackling health inequalities), the Unpaid Carers Programme and Yorkshire and Humber networks to agree collective priorities.

By working together we are able to add value and improve the health and wellbeing for children and young people as well as future generations - one of the very reasons why this important programme exists.

Digibete App

The Children, Young People and Families Programme programme has funded the Digibete App for all children and young people with type 1 diabetes across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. This is a Diabetes Clinic Communications, Education and Patient Self-Management App. Despite huge improvements from clinical teams, approximately 70% of young people still struggle to manage their diabetes safely. It is widely recognised that the vast majority of self-management happens in the community and therefore clinically approved education resources need to be available when needed. It includes a Diabetes Clinic Communications, Education and Patient Self-Management App.

All the information on Digibete has been co-designed with people with diabetes and families. It includes information on sports and exercise; insulin pumps and technology; emotional wellbeing, school and education. There are also resources specific to teenagers, healthy eating and carbohydrate counting and guidance on diabetes management. All of our six diabetes units are signed up to this and will be implementing the App.

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Our Children, Young People and Families Programme

GP (General Practitioner)

NHS 111

Accident and Emergency

The health of children and young people is determined by far more than healthcare

Digibete App

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