What We Do

We work to ensure that health services are planned for children and young people in child-centred environments, which are staffed by appropriately trained staff. We promote the use of evidence based practice to provide high quality healthcare services at home and in hospital, while working to obtain equality of services and access across Scotland.

Who do we work with?

We work in partnership with parents, carers, professionals, and children and young people to help them meet their healthcare needs when they are ill. We represent children and young people’s needs and concerns within the Scottish Government, healthcare committees and other non-governmental organisations. This means we work with:

• The Scottish Government Health Department
• Health boards and Community Health Partnerships
• Children’s hospitals and general hospitals which treat children, health centres and child development centres
• Healthcare professionals
• Schools and special schools
• Other organisations and agencies which are connected with children and young people’s health and disability such as Contact a Family or Enable. See Useful links
• Children and young people who have a healthcare need/problem and different family members.

As well as providing information, support, advice, a liaison role and resources on any aspect of a child or young person’s healthcare, we also have a range of projects operating in different parts of the country, each of which deals with a specific topic of children’s and young people’s health.

These are:

We can:

• Give advice about the healthcare services available for children and young people
• Explain how young people can access these
• Help young people understand their rights in relation to healthcare services
• Help young people have their say about services
• Help them to share their views with other young people
• Take their views to people who can make a difference
• Work with young people and healthcare professionals on their healthcare needs and rights
• Give talks and presentations about our service.

To read about our plans please click here for Strategic Plan 2016-19 (482 KB) and our statistical appendix 16-19 (157 KB).

We report on the work we have done each year, which includes how we have helped children, young people and families.