Here is the first episode of this special mini podcast series, in collaboration with London South Bank University and the Universal Healthcare Network. 

(You will remember that Episode 56 with Professor Becky Malby was our first ‘bookend’ to introduce this series and tell you why Universal Healthcare is important)

Dr Tom Holliday is my first guest to dive in and share examples of how universal healthcare works in practice, breaking down traditional barriers to deliver more personalised care in a more equitable and human way.

Tom, as well as being a great friend of mine, is a very forward thinking consultant paediatrician. He is also now leading the Darzi Fellowship programme, with which I work closely every year with Whose Shoes. 

Children Get Less. Not here! We have put them FIRST!

After all, they are our future.

Lemon lightbulbs 🍋💡🍋
🍋 Follow this series to learn ALL about Universal Healthcare - and why it matters!
🍋Children are often pushed to the back – so we’re putting them first!
🍋 Good healthcare should come to where families are, not expect people to visit lots of separate buildings and specialists
🍋 Integrated care is jargon. Best practice care is what we must aim for
🍋 It is about providing the holistic care a child needs.
🍋When you are passed on from service to service, important information gets lost through the gaps.
🍋 It’s all about relationships! Across care boundaries!
🍋 If you swap GPs, you shouldn’t have to start again with a new CAMHS referral!
🍋 The NHS incentivises and measures activity; it should focus on meeting need
🍋 if you meet need, the overall level of need goes down
🍋 Third sector organisations need sustainable funding to plan longer term
🍋 If you can tackle issues via primary care, people don’t need to come to hospital
🍋 Complex problems can be resolved through good multidisciplinary working
🍋 If you don’t know the answer, phone a friend!
🍋 Physical health and mental health are interconnected
🍋 Children get less - especially mental health provision
🍋 CYP mental health services might talk in terms of a waiting list
🍋 Families, waiting for mental health support, talk in terms of “this isn’t a wait, it’s a life on hold!” 😢
🍋 Prevention and early intervention make all the difference
🍋 It’s not rocket science. It’s actually quite easy!
🍋 The patient is the expert in their own condition and how it feels
🍋 It’s all about teamwork and learning from others – nobody is doing this work alone!

Links:
Universal HealthCare National Inquiry
Easy Read Executive Summary
10 Leaps Forward - Innovation in the pandemic
Bob Klaber - kindness matters
Gill's Universal Healthcare work with MPFT

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