Please see the Wessex Healthier Together website for advice for parents, young people and pregnant women. There are also links to download an app for Apple (iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch) and Android smartphones.
Services that are confusing for parents to navigate, or unresponsive to the needs of acutely unwell children, mean that parents often end up seeking help from highly responsive services such as A&E departments and 999 ambulances. This in turn places increased strain on these already overstretched services.
Increasing numbers of children are also being admitted to hospital, often with relatively mild conditions such as respiratory tract infections, fever and gastroenteritis, for a duration of less than 24hrs.
A number of these children could potentially be managed at home if more robust local services were available, which would in turn improve patient experience. In addition, by overwhelming the urgent care system with children who do not require medical intervention, there is a risk of exposing children who are seriously unwell to sub-optimal care.
This project aims to look at how acute paediatric care could be better delivered to serve the needs of children and young people in Wessex. This project will initially focus on children under the age of 5yrs with common illnesses.