Child Health Tuesday – weekly email bulletin
| Every week we circulate a round-up of information we have been asked to distribute to our members, along with any other items of interest to share with you.
Contact us via the email address below if you have any items to request for inclusion, using the subject line ‘Child Health Tuesday’.
Email us: nencicb.northernchildnetwork@nhs.net Find us on LinkedIn and Bluesky
If you have been forwarded this email, join the Network now to receive future bulletins directly to your inbox.
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Interactive asthma webinars for education settings
Monday 2nd March 1pm-2pm Register here Monday 9th March 4pm-5pm Register here
For all involved in looking after children and young people with asthma in an education setting.
Join us and learn:
Asthma is a common condition – one in every 11 children in the UK has asthma. It is important to recognise the key role of schools in children’s lives and that education staff should feel confident in the management of asthma within school. In view of the updated national asthma guidelines published in 2024, there have also been some changes in the type and use of some inhalers that may be brought to school.
Everyone can play a part in creating an asthma-friendly environment from parent/carer to the whole school community. Parents should have confidence in sending their child to school and children with asthma should feel safe within school.
Identifying the signs and symptoms of an asthma attack can support children and young people with recognising and initiating asthma relief treatment and to follow their personalised asthma action plan.
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New regional asthma prescribing guidelines
We are pleased to be able to share the regional paediatric asthma guidelines that have been finalised and published on the Northern Treatment Advisory Group (NTAG) website.
They are based on the current BTS/NICE/SIGN asthma guidelines and are aimed at providing clinicians with practical advice. Whilst they are mainly intended for primary care prescribers, they contain useful information that will be relevant to secondary care prescribers too.
We are very grateful to all members of different workstreams who came together in the NENC ICB to champion collaborative working.
Please see direct links for the relevant age groups below:
Asthma Prescribing Guidelines for Children and Young People 2 to 5 years
Asthma Prescribing Guidelines for Children and Young People 6-11 years
Asthma Prescribing Guidelines for Children and Young People 12-17 years
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Network Huddle: SPACE Pilot
Tuesday 3rd March, 1pm-3pm
Join this network huddle to find out how the SPACE CYP (Social Prescribing And Community rEsources for Children and Young People) Pilot works. This is a partnership between Ways to Wellness, Great North Children’s Hospital and Newcastle University that supports children with chronic, complex conditions using a whole-family approach to their care. It offers non-medical support to complement the work of clinicians at Great North Children’s Hospital, looking at all aspects of life affecting each individual family member, as well as the family unit as a whole.
Family members are supported to feel more confident in managing their health and wellbeing, looking at all aspects of life, including finances and work. Specialist social prescribing link workers focus on ‘what matters to you’, so action planning and goal setting is guided by the child and their family. Where appropriate, families are introduced to support and services in the community that help them achieve their goals.
This event will hear from a range of speakers who will discuss the impact of the programme so far as well as its influence on practice both in and outside the region.
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Lunch and Learn: Newcastle’s Bladder and Bowel Care Pathways
Thursday 19th February, 1-2pm
How to successfully care for children and young adults with bladder and/or bowel dysfunction and how we can support primary care.
Our clinical leads within Newcastle Paediatric Bladder and Bowel Service are hosting a lunchtime webinar to offer support and advice when children present with bladder and/or bowel dysfunction.
All healthcare professionals in primary care are encouraged to join as a huge volume of children and young people have underlying chronic constipation, soiling, daytime wetting, nocturnal enuresis, urinary frequency etc.
We can offer advice and treatment plans to support this cohort of children.
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Lunch and Learn: Common sleep issues facing children
Tuesday 24th March, 1pm-2pm
A session to discuss common sleep issues facing children led by Paediatric Consultant Dr Liz McLellan.
This lunch and learn session is aimed at all healthcare professionals in primary care. It will help you to learn about common sleep disorders, some of the investigations used and some treatment strategies offered.
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Children’s Mental Health Week 9th – 15th February
Next week is Children’s Mental Health Week. Place2Be has all their free, official resources for Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 on their website. There is lots of ideas and inspiration for you, from class activities and assemblies for schools, to top tips and creativity for families, to fundraising guides, plus bonus materials.
Take a look at the official:
There is also a fantastic creative activity from Place2Be’s Art Room team – watch this space for the launch of the Child Health and Wellbeing Network’s upcoming creative health campaign for more ideas how to use arts and creativity to support children’s wellbeing.
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STEP outdoors sessions for autistic children
For autistic children aged 5-11 – facilitated by North East Autism Society and Rise
About the session These sessions will provide an opportunity for children to experience a variety of play-based activities, making use of indoor and outdoor space. The session will be facilitated by a member of NEAS team and Rise. Parents are requested to stay on site with their child during the session.
Session dates: 16th-20th February (spaces are limited to six per session) Session times: 10am-11.30am and 1pm-2.30pm (morning and afternoons will be repeated activities) Location: Howdon Family Hub, Howdon Lane, Wallsend, NE28 0AL
To express interest for a space please contact Kerrie.Highcock@ne-as.org.uk
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Teenage and Young Adults Cancer Study Day
Friday 20th March, 9am – 4.30pm The Morritt Hotel, Greta Bridge, Barnard Castle, DL12 9SE
Do you know that a specialist regional teenage and young adult (TYA) service exists for cancer patients age 19-24 years? Would you feel confident recognising the unique psychosocial needs of this cohort?
Register today to attend a free educational event with the North East & North Cumbria Children & Young People Cancer Network to learn about how we can support teenagers and young adults:
Email Toni Hunt toni.hunt@nhs.net with any queries
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Palliative and end of life care survey
The ICB are carrying out important work to better understand how people feel about palliative and end of life care across the North East and North Cumbria. Talking about death is not always easy, but listening to what matters to our communities will help us shape more compassionate, equitable and person-centred care for the future.
We would be very grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete our short, anonymous survey and share it with others. Every response will help us design support that meets the needs and wishes of people at such an important stage of life.
For further information, please contact nencicb.involve@nhs.net
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Fresh lunchtime learning session: The economic impact of smoking
Tuesday 10th March, 12.30pm-1.30pm, online
Dr Tessa Langley, Associate Professor in Public Health Economics and Evaluation at the University of Nottingham, will join us to talk about the economic impact of smoking on communities, and particularly the benefits of significantly reducing smoking rates further including through smoking cessation.
Her studies have shown that making England completely smokefree could free up billions of pounds and provide substantial benefits to local economies. Her research has also shown that areas with higher smoking prevalence and lower average incomes stand to benefit the most from smoking cessation efforts, offering an opportunity to reduce socioeconomic inequalities. By reducing smoking rates and freeing up disposable income, policymakers have the opportunity to alleviate smoking-induced deprivation and empower individuals to redirect funds towards essential needs.
Dr Langley will also talk about the forthcoming introduction of the Vaping Products Duty in October 2026 and discuss the potential implications on misperceptions about the harms of vaping; the extent to which higher prices could discourage adults who smoke from switching to vaping and the potential implications of the duty for health inequalities.
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NENC Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub
Quick, Free & Confidential Support for You!
Free, confidential support for all health and social care staff across the North East and North Cumbria. We aim to offer you an initial appointment within seven working days, followed by up to three additional brief therapy or support sessions. All with no waiting lists! Most sessions are via videocall or telephone, at times that work for you.
Whether you’re facing challenges at work, at home, or both, we’re here to help. Our experienced NHS clinicians are ready to listen and support you with flexible, timely appointments.
Getting help is simple:
Click here and self-refer online with our confidential brief form Email us: hubstheword@cntw.nhs.uk Leave us a confidential voicemail: 0191 223 2030
Don’t wait. Reach out today!
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Wellbeing resource on Boost website
A free health and wellbeing offer is available on the Boost platform for all staff and volunteers across the North East and North Cumbria. It includes resources for emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing, plus resilience tools and useful apps. You can also explore support for organisational change. Perhaps start with the ‘Emotional Wellbeing’ section for quick tools you can use today.
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The following messages have been circulated by the Children and Young People’s Transformation Programme team for information and action where appropriate.
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Guidance to improve the recording of community mental health (CMH) waiting time ‘clock stops’
Wednesday 25th February, 2pm-3pm, online
We are inviting you to a webinar to introduce new guidance to support improved recording of SNOMED CT codes that act as waiting time “clock stops” for Community Mental Health (CMH) services for children and young people, adults, and older adults.
The session will:
The draft guidance has been published on the NHS Futures website and is available for providers to review in advance of the webinar.
Providers are encouraged to submit feedback via the MS form prior to the session. The feedback provided will be addressed during the Q&A as far as possible, and will be used to refine the guidance ahead of planned publication in Q1 2026–27.
If you have any further questions, please contact us at england.mhinfrastructure@nhs.net
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Published: February 9