Lessons for the development of collaborative CCN services are summarised by Hazel Coley and Jane Partridge

The right of the child to be cared for at home, wherever possible, was first identified in the Platt Report in 1959 and has since been restated in many publications. A developing awareness that this service should be provided by a children’s nurse within a family-centred model of care has led to recognition of the need for dedicated children’s community nursing (CCN) teams (DoH 1991, Audit Commission 1993). Within this framework however the development of CCN services in the UK has been slow and patchy, with over 50 per cent of children still denied access to a children’s community nurse (House of Commons Health Committee 1997).