• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Health Creation Alliance

  • Learning
    • Learn with us
    • Learning resources
    • Discovery learning programmes
  • Voices for Change
  • Connect to Transform
  • Publications
  • Health Creation
  • Events/News
    • Health Creation: Coming of Age
    • Health Creation Forum
    • News and Media
    • Awards
      • 2018 Awards
  • Members
  • About
    • People
    • Partners
    • Values
    • Governance
    • Reporting
    • Our Policies
You are here: Home / Press Releases / Health Creation Alliance calls for new solution to child health crisis

26/01/2017 by Health Creation Alliance

Health Creation Alliance calls for new solution to child health crisis

Health Creation Alliance is today calling for a new approach to tackling child health inequalities, in the wake of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health report The State of Child Health, published today.
Whilst agreeing with the call for a reversal in cuts to public health, especially in pharmacy, general practice, school nursing and health visiting, which disproportionally affect child health services, we urge government to consider how a ‘health creating’, rather than an ‘illness preventing’ approach may help.
Health creation is about helping people find their own solutions by giving them back control of their lives. This is complementary to, not a replacement of, traditional calls for legislation and for other policy-led changes to public services.
We call for an investment in good quality asset-based community development in order to understand and work with the knowledge and strengths of the community. This will help us to better understand the causes of the causes of child health problems. Much of this arises from poverty but also from the social isolation and powerlessness felt in our communities.
Chair Heather Henry, who works as a nurse in equal partnership with communities in Salford said:
‘We need to break the vicious cycle of disadvantage by working with the culture of the community instead of always try to change it. We need to understand how maladaptive coping behaviours to stress, such as overeating, smoking and drinking arise and how we address the underlying causes of stress and not just focus on the effects. There is good evidence from NESTA that self-help groups for example can transform people’s lives, alongside existing services. And yet the focus ends up on yet more services and laws.
Rick Stern, National Executive member at Health Creation Alliance said:
‘I wonder why the RCPCH does not reference the excellent work done in Scotland, where leaders such as Sir Harry Burns have taken action to rebuild community and tackle the issues as a whole system rather than the piecemeal targeting of smoking, drinking etc separately. It should be a cross government response.’
Mark Robinson, a fellow National Executive member said:
‘You can’t take people’s benefits away, put a cap on earnings, remove social mobility, increase taxation, isolate communities, create tension, reduce services and not expect health to decline. So kicking public health is not the solution and I doubt that the sticking plaster of a few nurses is the solution either.’
David Aynsley, member of the national executive and an expert on children’s human rights said:
‘Often we see that children’s basic rights are overlooked. They need to be listened to. I remember when I was a police sergeant and I helped kids in Camborne to start a street dance group, the TR14ers. I tell you, their antisocial behaviour completely changed, they stopped smoking and their asthma got a lot better too. And do you know, it is still going 12 years later.’

– ENDS –

Notes to editors:

  • For enquiries, please contact: Judy Harris at judyharris15@aol.co.uk  or on 07717 691845
  • Health Creation Alliance mission is … ‘to infect the UK health system with wellness’. You can find more information here
  • Health Creation Alliance has a goal to make Health Creation and health creating practices a core part of the UK healthcare system alongside a greater focus on prevention. We believe that this is the best way to reduce health inequalities and deliver a sustainable health service. Click here for a short briefing paper on Health Creation.
  • You can find coverage of our Health Creation Action Summit here
  • We intend to publish a ‘Manifesto for the adoption of health creating practices’ in the spring of 2017

 
 

  • About
  • Latest Posts
Health Creation Alliance
Health Creation Alliance
The Health Creation Alliance is the only national cross-sector movement addressing health inequalities through Health Creation
Health Creation Alliance
Latest posts by Health Creation Alliance (see all)
  • How to create health (and not just consume healthcare): Building Back Together following COVID-19 - 28/07/2021
  • Health Creation Alliance Newsletter Spring 2020 - 20/04/2020
  • Community lessons from The Coronavirus Pandemic - 15/04/2020

Filed Under: Press Releases

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Blogs
  • Events
  • Newsletters
  • Opinion Pieces
  • Press Releases
  • Uncategorized

Blogs

  • Health Creation – Coming of Age?
  • The Fuller Stocktake: Let’s not miss the opportunity to fashion a place-based, health creating future for primary care
  • How to create health (and not just consume healthcare): Building Back Together following COVID-19

Newsletters

  • Health Creation Alliance Newsletter Spring 2020
  • Health Creation Alliance Newsletter December 2019
  • Health Creation Alliance Newsletter October 2019

Opinion Pieces

  • ‘What is the government going to do next to reverse the worrying trend in health inequalities?’
  • WELLNESS AND THE POWER OF COMMUNITY ASSETS
  • CALLING FOR A NEW FOCUS ON WELLNESS

Press Releases

  • Health Creation Alliance statement in response to Marmot Review – 10 years on
  • Health Creation Alliance calls on NHS England to reconsider how mental health services are commissioned going forward
  • Lord Adebowale joins Health Creation Alliance as a Patron

Footer

Become a member today

Join others addressing health inequalities through Health Creation: visit our Membership page. Privacy Policy

We are social

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Useful links

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Manifesto for Health Creation
  • Our People
  • Our Values

Contacts

Contact Us
Moseley Exchange
149-153 Alcester Road
Moseley
Birmingham
B13 8JP

 

© 2023 · Health Creation Alliance · Powered by The SEO Lounge