Enhancing service provision for looked after children and young people in Doncaster
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Enhancing service provision for looked after children and young people in Doncaster

Jayne Mulhern Community practice educator, Children’s Care Group, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust, Doncaster, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To enhance your knowledge of the health needs of looked after children and young people

  • To recognise the benefits of a dedicated nurse specialist following a looked after child or young person throughout their care journey

  • To find useful resources for assessing the health needs of looked after children and young people

The 0-19 looked after children (LAC) team in Doncaster, England, is a well-established service that has developed over time to identify and address the health needs of looked after children and young people and care leavers. Its aims are to improve outcomes for these children and young people by offering a holistic approach to assessing their health and well-being. The principle of having a dedicated nurse specialist for LAC following each child or young person throughout their care journey enables a trusting relationship to be established and the voice of the child or young person to be heard.

This article reports on several developments in the Doncaster LAC team, including a local pilot of joint nurse and GP initial health assessments and participation in a national pilot of mental health assessments.

Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2024.e1516

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

jayne.mulhern@nhs.net

Conflict of interest

None declared

Mulhern J (2024) Enhancing service provision for looked after children and young people in Doncaster. Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2024.e1516

Published online: 22 July 2024

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