| 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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New opportunities in the Network
We have three new opportunities to work with the Network within our long-term conditions work programme, with a particular focus on asthma and epilepsy. Each of these opportunities are subject to final financial approvals but we are taking expressions of interest at this stage and are for work to be completed by April 2026.
Epilepsy Clinical Leadership role
We are looking to increase clinical leadership capacity within our epilepsy programme to work alongside existing expertise in this area and support delivery of the national bundle of care for children and young people with epilepsy as part of the CYP Transformation Programme. Commitment to the role is flexible depending on individual capacity.
For further information and an informal conversation about this opportunity, please email Emilia Soulsby via nencicb.northernchildnetwork@nhs.net by Monday 15th September.
Creative health approaches to improving asthma management in CYP with a learning disability
We are developing a collaborative project to address the overuse of SABA (Short-acting beta 2 agonists) blue inhalers (or other similar focus) in managing asthma symptoms in children and young people with a learning disability. We are keen to hear from arts and creativity organisations and those working with young people with a learning disability who may wish to support this work with funding of up to £10k available. The aim is to use innovative creative health approaches, in collaboration with the Network’s Asthma Leadership Group and in conjunction with our North East & Cumbria Learning Disability Network, to develop resources to support CYP with both asthma and a learning disability to manage their condition more effectively.
Please email Laura Cassidy via nencicb.northernchildnetwork@nhs.net to express an interest in being involved by Monday 15th September.
Small grant funding for provider-based projects to target inequalities in long term conditions
We would like to receive expressions of interest for project bids up to the amount of £10k for service providers to address inequalities related to the delivery of the asthma and epilepsy bundles of care, and children and young people’s diabetes services. This can include improving transition of care from children’s to adult services.
For more information and details on how to submit your bid, please email Laura Cassidy via nencicb.northernchildnetwork@nhs.net by Monday 15th September with bids to be submitted by Friday 26th September.
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Chickenpox vaccine rollout for babies and young children
From January next year, GP practices will offer eligible children a combined vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) – the clinical term for chickenpox – as part of the routine infant vaccination schedule.
The chickenpox vaccine has been safely used for decades and is already part of the routine vaccine schedules in several countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia and Germany.
The government’s decision to roll out the MMRV vaccine in January is based on expert scientific advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), following research showing the significant impact of severe cases of chickenpox on children’s health, hospital admissions and associated costs.
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New NHS WhatsApp channel NHS England has launched an official NHS WhatsApp channel, offering trusted health information straight to your phone. It will share quick, visual messages on seasonal advice and public health campaigns like flu and Covid-19, plus important NHS updates, and myth-busting content you can trust. To find out more, follow the channel or go to WhatsApp and search for ‘NHS’ under the ‘Updates’ tab.
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NCSCT briefings on smoking and vaping in young people
The National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT) has published two new briefings designed to support professionals working with young people around tobacco and nicotine use: This briefing covers:
This briefing covers:
Additional resources and case studies to support these briefings have also been developed and are accessible on these webpages.
Further to the above, it is recommended that colleagues familiarise themselves with the two position statements on nicotine vaping that have been developed by both the ADPH North East and the NENC ICB. Both of these documents are regularly reviewed and updated in light of new evidence and guidance.
Colleagues may also be interested in expert reactions to the study circulated in last week’s newsletter on youth vaping and its links to smoking, marijuana use, alcohol use, and other health outcomes.
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Peer Action Collective (PAC) stakeholder event
Thursday 11th September, 4.30pm-7.30pm Durham Cricket, Chester-le-Street, DH3 3QR
The Peer Action Collective (PAC) is a national project, designed and delivered by young people for young people, across England and Wales. We are the North East team. Our team of young people are employed as peer researchers and social action leads by Youth Focus North East and NE Youth. PAC has conducted research on the drivers of serious youth violence and has transformed their findings into social action.
PAC have designed a digital PSHE framework and Youth Voice toolkit to support stakeholders in empowering young people to thrive and flourish. To learn more about our research findings and to access our social action outputs, attend our event!
Food will be provided. Additional information including travel, parking will be emailed to you once you have booked your place.
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Impact and Implementation Special Interest Group (SIG): The role of Public Involvement and Community Engagement
Wednesday 17th September, 11am-12pm, online
The next NENC Applied Research Collaboration Impact and Implementation SIG will explore the role of Public Involvement and Community Engagement (PICE) in enhancing impact and implementation of health and social care research.
This session will cover:
All are welcome to attend.
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Addressing inequalities in children’s intensive care
New research published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health has used data from the Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network (PICANet) to highlight inequalities for children admitted to intensive care in the UK. It found that that children of minority ethnicities and those living in poverty were disproportionally affected following admission to paediatric intensive care units (PICUs).
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Celebrating Children and Young People’s Nursing Conference 2025 – ‘Our Present, Our Future’
18th & 19th September Northumbria University, Business & Law Building, City Campus East Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST
Northumbria University is delighted to be hosting this national conference in partnership with the Great North Children’s Hospital (Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (Children’s Nursing Services) and South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust (Children’s Nursing Services).
This conference will provide one of the largest national and international forums for children and young people’s (CYPs) nurses to collaborate and network on a range of contemporary topics relevant to their practice.
A broad range of activities is planned with the aim to connect, inspire, and educate, encouraging thought provoking exchanges. Delegates will be offered the opportunity to share ideas and experiences for the present and future of the profession, meeting the needs of children, young people, and their families.
More information and register to attend
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Centre for Population Health Conference 2025: Strongest Start
Thursday 20th November, 9.30am-4.30pm Newcastle United Football Club, NE1 4ST
Join the Centre for Population Health and Children North East for a dynamic day dedicated to empowering conversations, fostering meaningful connections, sharing cutting-edge knowledge, and inspiring actionable change to improve the lives of babies, children, and young people.
Attendees will benefit from:
Whatever your sector, organisation or role – you have an important part to play in driving change for better. Everyone is welcome.
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NENC Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub – quick and confidential support just for you
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 fill out our short self-referral form Email us: hubstheword@cntw.nhs.uk Leave us a confidential voicemail: 0191 223 2030
Don’t wait. Reach out today!
Someone to Talk to Day and Night Need someone to talk to? Text SHOUT to 85258 to reach a confidential, 24/7 support service where trained volunteers are ready to listen and help, whenever you need them. Whether you’ve had a tough day or feel overwhelmed, you’re not alone. Ideal when it’s late, you need anonymity, or you want support right now by text.
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New wellbeing resource on Boost website
A free new health and wellbeing offer is now live 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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Community Health Services SitRep
The June 2025 Community Health Services (CHS) SitRep data is now ready and available via NHS Futures and published on the NHS Website. The CHS SitRep collects monthly data on waiting lists and waiting times for Children and Young People’s (CYP) and Adults’ community health services.
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#AskAboutAsthma campaign 2025
For 2025, #AskAboutAsthma will run from 8 – 12 September. This year’s theme is One year on from the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) report: How can we prevent asthma deaths?
The #AskAboutAsthma campaign was established by the Babies, Children and Young People’s Team at NHS England London to encourage children and young people, their families, and those involved in their care, to ensure four simple and effective measures to help them control their asthma:
During the week there will be a half-day virtual conference and three webinars, details and booking links can be accessed below: #AskAboutAsthma 2025 Conference – Wednesday 10th September 9:00 – 13:00
Webinars
As part of #AskAboutAsthma 2025 there will be three webinars on 8th, 9th and 11th September focused on children and young people’s asthma care. These are designed for stakeholders across the spectrum of CYP asthma systems.
Supporting children, young people, families and schools (Monday 8th September: 12.30 – 1.15pm): We will hear from Sammy Ndluvu-Dawika on how schools can best support children and young people with asthma, and Tori Hadaway will guide us on using the new digital personalised asthma action plan.
Nursing webinar (Tuesday 9th September: 12.30 – 1.15pm): This webinar focuses on how nurses can support improvements in asthma care for CYP. We will hear from Ash Simmons who will present learning from case studies, and an expert panel will answer questions and discuss tricky cases that delegates may wish to bring.
Primary care webinar (Thursday 11th September: 12:30 – 1.15pm): This webinar will update you on developments in children and young people’s asthma care. Darush Attar-Zadeh will be our Chair and we will hear from Bhumika Mittal a GP and CYP Asthma Lead who will provide an update on children and young people’s asthma in primary care, and Richard Chavasse will focus on MART and AIR for general practice.
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Published: September 8