England has the worst outcomes in Europe for children & young people with more unscheduled care, hospital attendances and the development of longer-term health problems. Here in Humber and North Yorkshire we are determined to change that narrative. By thinking, planning and working together as a whole system we aim for all of our children and young people to experience excellent care and support to ensure the best start in life, with equal opportunities, are happy and thrive in every aspect of their lives and are not disadvantaged by their disease, no matter their circumstances.
The national bundle of care for Children and Young People (CYP) launched at the end of 2021, clearly sets out standards across eight areas which are must do’s and incorporate a whole system approach to tackling the impact of childhood asthma.
Early and accurate diagnosis, ensuring the right treatment plan is in place for all settings and is reviewed regularly are essential components and for those with severe asthma receiving timely and proactive treatment is key to changing the course of their disease. I should point out however this is not all about medical treatment but also includes, ensuring treatment plans are followed in schools and community settings, addressing the impact of poor housing, domestic and environment air pollution. Most important is ensuring anyone who supports children and young people have the right knowledge, skills and experience to do this well.
Meet our new Children & Young People’s Asthma taskforce
The children & young people’s alliance through its transformation programme have been able to resource a skilled team of professionals from across primary and secondary care. This has been further enhanced by the successful application to become a national pilot area (one of eight) supervised by the CYP national team enabling us to recruit two highly specialist nurses and this combination has enabled us to form our Children & Young Peoples asthma task force.
Dr Marcia Pathak: Marcia is an experienced GP working in North- East Lincolnshire and is involved in number of projects related to children & young people and leads our asthma team. Marcia is passionate about getting this right and addressing the inequalities across our region.
Dr Rebecca Brown: Becky is an experienced GP working in York and has a special interest in respiratory disease in children and has been involved in a number of innovative projects gaining national recognition.
Dr Sarah Jane Foxton: Sarah Jane is a very experienced paediatrician and has national recognition for her work regarding compliance with the asthma audit and will lead on pathways including severe asthma.
Jennifer Brownbridge: Jen is our lead CYP asthma nurse practitioner and is very experienced in all areas of asthma. Her breadth of knowledge around all aspects of childhood asthma including the asthma bundle standards is excellent and she will be huge asset to the team.
Keira Norwood: Kiera is our specialist asthma nurse practitioner who also brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our asthma programme. A key part of Keira’s role will be to lead on the asthma friendly school’s programme.
Karen Nickerson: is our project support officer who is integral to delivery of this programme. Karen organises and coordinates aspects of the programme and is the key point of contact for any enquires.
Asthma nurse coordinators
These are new roles in the system and aim to bridge the gaps between primary and secondary care and will be able to respond to the needs of local communities. Our coordinators have a range of experience across all health settings, including school nursing. An example of this is to provide practical support in clinical settings for example to undertaking post asthma exacerbation reviews and supporting primary care in delivery of this standard.
Our coordinators are:
Ruth Fowler: Ruth will work across North & North East Lincolnshire
Rachael Sinclair: Rachel will work across York & North Yorkshire
Jennifer Wood: Jenny will work across Hull & East Riding
Our children & Young People’s asthma task force are incredibly passionate and committed to improving the lives children with asthma. If you would like to know more about the work of the team or get involved, please contact karen.nickerson@nhs.net