Guidance
National service framework: children, young people and maternity services
Sets out the government's quality standards for children, young people and maternity standards.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
The ‘National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services’ is a 10 year plan that sets national standards for the first time for children’s health and social care. The standards promote high quality, women and child centred services and personalised care that meets the needs of parents, children and their families.
The NSF for children, young people and maternity services will require services to:
- promote good physical health, mental health and emotional well being by encouraging children and their families to develop healthy lifestyles
- focus on an early comprehensive assessment of a child and their family’s needs
- tackle health inequalities, addressing the particular needs of communities, children and their families who are likely to have unhealthy lifestyles
- ensure that pregnant women receive high quality care throughout their pregnancy, have a normal childbirth wherever possible, are involved in decisions about what is best for them and have choices about how and where they give birth
Published 4 October 2004