In this final episode of our podcast series on the changing climate, this mountainous country is seeing extreme temperature fluctuations, landslides and air pollution, endangering communities and impacting healthcare. But, there are some lessons around adaptation, as our guests who work or have volunteered in Nepal explain. Dr Bernadette O’Hare hos…

Floods, heatwaves and wildfires have become increasingly common across Canada. And as retired paediatrician Dr Julian Pleydell-Pearce explains in this episode of our climate change series, this makes a profound impact on the lives of children and young people - and the way health services are delivered. In episode two of this three-part series, Pro…

Less predictable weather in the past several years in this east African country have made it increasingly difficult to grow crops, leading to food shortages and skyrocketing prices. There are broader consequences for children's health, too, as Eva Odongpiny, a pharmacist in Uganda, discusses with us. These include an increased vulnerability to dise…

Health inequalities are widening in paediatrics. Those that are more disadvantaged experience more safety issues whilst in health care. If we can make our healthcare systems more equitable for the children and young people we can for, they will be safer in our care. In episode 5 of our series on paediatric patient safety, we speak with Dr Helen Ste…

It is imperative that children and young people are central to the co-design and co-production of our patient safety improvement interventions. In this episode, we speak with Dr Jane Runnacles, consultant paediatrician at St. George's Hospital, and Dr Victoria Dublon, paediatric diabetes consultant at the Royal Free Hospital. Both are champions of …

It is not enough just to collect data on harm occurring to children in healthcare settings. We need the data to be robust, comparable across the NHS and for it to be transformed into effective, meaningful changes in outcome. In episode 3 of our series on paediatric patient safety, we speak with Dr Damian Roland, a paediatric emergency medicine clin…

Psychological safety in healthcare settings is the condition in which you feel included, safe to learn, safe to contribute and safe to challenge the status quo - without fear of being embarrassed, marginalised or punished. And it's an essential foundation in building a safety culture. Individually, feeling psychologically safe improves performance …

Healthcare is inherently risky and so as child health professionals we need to make patient safety a priority in all our actions. We need to think about safety all the time. In episode 1 of our series on paediatric patient safety, we speak with Dr Peter Lachman, who develops and delivers programmes for clinical leaders in quality improvement at the…

Richard Burley, Executive Director of Digital talks with Professor Shah about how digital technology can support child health, and how paediatricians can embrace it - with a dose of healthy scepticism. Professor Sam Shah is Chief Medical Strategy Officer at men's health company, Numan, and Honorary Lecturer at University College London's Global Bus…

Climate change poses an existential risk to child health and is exacerbating health inequalities. But, paediatricians can play an important role in sharing information and advocating for action. Dr Helen Stewart and Dr Alex Lemaigre introduce the College’s new toolkit for paediatricians. Our first tool helps you understand how climate change impact…

Talking about the intentionality behind what the College does to train and support paediatricians: RCPCH Vice President for Training and Assessment, Dr Cathryn Chadwick interviews Trainees Committee Chair, Dr Emma Dyer. Our College Strategy 2021-24 outlines four strategic aims to support our mission of improving health outcomes for children and you…

Two paediatricians share thoughts around vulnerability, compassion and belonging at work. Jess and Anna talk about brave spaces, the importance (and limits) of self-care and those "small moments of human connection". Dr Jess Morgan is a paediatrician and working as a Dinwoodie RCPCH Fellow on an exciting new project, Thrive Paediatrics, which aims …

In a first for our podcasts, we delve into the world of government and parliament. RCPCH President Camilla Kingdon speaks with Dame Andrea Leadsom MP, Conservative Member of Parliament for South Northamptonshire about her experiences of advocating for infant and child health. Dame Andrea wants every baby to have the best start in life - a message s…

We hear from two teams doing innovative work to better understand the impact of poverty on children and young people’s health, and design NHS services that provide targeted support for families. RCPCH Officer for Health Improvement Dr Helen Stewart interviews the two teams. First, two trainee paediatricians in Belfast, Dr Naomi Kirk and Dr Anne-Mar…

In our second series of College Strategy 2021-24 podcasts we look at the Strategy in action. Hearing stories from clinicians, children and young people and staff about the impact our work has made on the community and within paediatric clinical practice. The National Diabetes Quality Programme (NDQP) was established in collaboration with the Nation…

In this first of a podcast series from the Medicines for Children team, we speak with Fiona, a young person with epilepsy, and her mum, Karen. It's an honest and lively discussion from their fear at first diagnosis to working out the right medication, to learning to live well with the condition. The Medicines for Children team is pleased to share t…

This podcast is created by young volunteers with RCPCH &Us and is all about climate change, with some international guests from Ghana and others closer to home from the RCPCH Climate Change Working Group and RCPCH members. Listen to find out how doctors and young people can work together to make sure that we face the climate change crisis head on. …

Mental health can be a challenging and sensitive topic. In this podcast, five child health professionals talk about how they are are tackling the issue through advocacy and innovation. The spring edition of the College’s member magazine Milestones has a special focus on supporting children and young people’s mental health. To mark this, Milestones …

We know that children living in poverty are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes. Paediatricians are in a unique and crucial position to advocate for lifelong change in their patients. Dr Helen Stewart, a consultant in paediatric emergency medicine and the College's Officer for Health Improvement, speaks with Dr Ian Sinha, consultant re…

This podcast is all about working with children and young people to help improve their health and the health of others. Have a listen for ideas, examples and information on engagement from RCPCH doctors and young people from RCPCH &Us - we hope you enjoy it! The podcasters are: Ali, Demi, Emma, Joseph, Leo, Lowenna, Oscar, Shashank, Shreya and Timo…

The conversation continues between Professor Paul Dimitri, our Vice President for Science & Research, and Emily Arkell, Director of Research & Policy, as they dive into one of our aims of the College strategy 2021-24. In the first part, Paul outlined the state of child health research in the UK. Now he looks at what we can do about it - from recogn…

We consider the importance of research to clinical practice in child health. This is the first of a two-part conversation between Professor Paul Dimitri, our Vice President for Science & Research, and Emily Arkell, Director of Research & Policy - and the fourth of our 'in conversation' series on the College strategy 2021-24. One of our aims is to h…

How can we build resilience and promote self-care at work? And what can we do at a Trust and wider level? We speak with two consultant paediatricians: First up is Dr Seb Gray, a consultant paediatrician in Salisbury, who wears many hats when it comes to promoting joy at work. Seb is on the editorial team of membership magazine, Milestones where he …

Our mission to improve child health doesn't end at our borders. The RCPCH Global programme partners with paediatric societies, global aid organisations and local agencies to train, advise and offer medical support. In our third episode of our 'in conversation' series on the College Strategy, our Head of Global Sebastian Taylor speaks with Dr Sue Br…

Your wellbeing - as busy health professionals - matters. At our annual conference in Liverpool this past June, we spoke with several members making a huge impact in their own hospitals and Trusts. This is the first of two episodes on wellbeing, and here we explore how to really understand the needs of the people you work with. First we hear with Dr…

The education and training of paediatricians is core to the College, and we dedicate one of our strategic aims to this theme, including lifelong learning, mentorship and choosing specialties. In our second episode of our 'in conversation' series on the College Strategy, Dr Jonathan Darling, RCPCH Vice President of Education and Training, shares his…

From the joy of finding people with a common purpose to the recognition that there's still a long way to go... College members Segn Nedd, Nadia Audhali and Mike Farquhar share their experiences and insights as part of our EDI member reference group. Find out more and get the transcript

This is the first of our “In conversation…” series on the College Strategy 2021-24. Dr Mike McKean, our VP for Health Policy speaks with Robert Okunnu, Director for Membership, Policy & External Affairs on the College’s health policy priorities, and how paediatricians can be advocates for children and young people. Mike tells us, "What could I do t…

RCPCH President Dr Camilla Kingdon speaks with Professor Simon Kenny about his role at NHS England. They discuss how to keep hold of core priorities in a changing world, the rapid and partnership response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the value of truly listening to children and young people. Sometimes you need to stand back and give appropriate tim…

Daniel is a young person diagnosed with transverse myelitis, an autoimmune disease. After several months in hospital, he moved from only using liquid medications to taking tablet forms. Daniel talks with Emma Lim about how he was taught to swallow pills, and gies his top tips on how you too can accomplish this. This podcast is produced in partnersh…

Nicola Vasey, lead pharmacist at the Great North Children’s Hospital, discusses the role of pharmacists in pill swallowing. The cost saving outcomes were viewed as one positive effect of the project and changing university and student curriculums to involve pill swallowing was proposed as the next best step for ensuring training in pill swallowing …

Dr Yincent Tse, a children’s kidney doctor with an interest in quality improvement, talks to Dr Emma Lim about the benefits of pill swallowing in relation to financial cost comparisons between liquid and pill medicines and the benefits/simplicity for everyone involved when patients are able to take pills. This podcast is produced in partnership wit…

Sister Ailsa Pickering, a specialist nurse working with infectious diseases in paediatrics, and Dr Emma Lim, consultant paediatrician at the Great North Children’s Hospital, discuss the practical side of learning to swallow tablets early on in life and how achieving this skill allows the patient some control over their health. Ailsa describes the s…

We speak to the Sandwell and West Birmingham Team about their QI project aimed at improving time in range. Contributors: Dr Chizo Agwu (Consultant Paediatrician – Clinical Lead) Charlotte Avann (Consultant Paediatrician) Lizbeth Hudson (Paediatric Diabetes Specialist Nurse) Hosts: Matt Oultram – RCPCH Quality Improvement Project Manager - CYP Diabe…

Our CEO Jo Revill spoke with Fiona Fox at the SMC, an independent press office helping to ensure the public has access to the best scientific evidence and expertise through the news media. Fiona offers a fascinating look at how the charity has worked - since January 2020 - throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out more and download transcript…

We speak to Liz Baker (Consultant Paediatrician) and Jo Ellis (Paediatric Diabetes Specialist Nurse) from York Teaching Hospitals about their QI project aimed at improving the clinic experience for patients. We also talk about their experience of taking part in the QI Collaborative. Contributors: Dr Liz Baker Jo Ellis Hosts: Matt Oultram - Quality …

Our Treasurer Liz Marder reflects on COP26 with Dr Richard Smith from the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change, discussing what it means for child health, and what needs to come next in terms of global climate action. We also hear from RCPCH President Camilla Kingdon and consultant paediatrician Dr Bernadette O’Hare about the new RCPCH position sta…

In this episode, our Chief Executive, Jo Revill speaks with RCPCH President, Camilla Kingdon about COVID-19 vaccination in children and young people, a complex issue with much public focus. They discuss the need for transparent information, how consent works and what the College is doing to represent the insights of both paediatricians and young pe…

We commonly hear from tier 1 doctors who are worried about stepping up. This tool will help you to gain experience, gather specific, constructive feedback about your work and evidence, when you are ready to progress. The ECAT presents you with an opportunity to get feedback on your tier 2 readiness. The feedback should enable you to reflect and foc…

In August 2020, Dr Emma Lim and Professor Mark Peters linked up again to reflect on their experiences of the coronavirus pandemic on paediatric hospital admissions and how sepsis in viruses, like COVID-19, doesn’t look any different. Sepsis is sepsis. They discuss the care needed when dealing with patients presenting with both COVID-19 and sepsis, …

Our President, Camilla Kingdon, and Chief Executive, Jo Revill, met to discuss the new strategy for the College, covering 2021 to 2024, which is published later this month. They spoke about why we need a strategy and who was involved in its creation. They also reflected on our four themes and our overall mission to support paediatricians and improv…

In August 2020 Professor Mark Peters, Consultant at GOSH and Researcher at the Institute of Child Health, joined Dr Emma Lim to discuss the first ever sepsis guidelines for children and young people.Par Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

We speak to Jo Kitchen and Amanda Grayson, Patient Advocates at the Calderdale and Huddersfield Trust, about their unique role in supporting young people with diabetes, and their Quality Improvement project on transition. Contributors: Jo Kitchen Amanda Grayson Patient advocates, Diabetes Team, Calderdale and Huddersfield Trust Hosts: Andrea Srur -…

Ahead of RCPCH Conference 2021, Dr Mathew Mathai, Consultant Paediatrician, and Dr Helen Jepps, Consultant Paediatrician and Clinical Director for Paediatrics at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, reflect on the impact of COVID-19 and discuss the role of paediatrics during a 'tipping point' in child health. Join Mat and Helen for the…

We speak with the team at Warrington and Halton NHS Trust on how they have developed their transition service through applying quality improvement (QI) methods, engaging with children and young people and gaining feedback from parents and carers. Thank you to the following contributors at Warrington and Halton NHS for taking part in this recording:…

Quality improvement encapsulates all aspects of patient care – not just the clinical experience but service development, review and evaluation. In this roundtable podcast led by two RCPCH QI Trainee Representatives, the QI Central Project Board discuss their own improvement journeys and what quality improvement means to them.…

Dr Bryony Hopkinshaw is a Paediatric Registrar working in London, and today we’re talking about the impacts of NHS charging regulations on undocumented children living in the UK. In this episode, we discuss the impacts of charging on patients, doctors, and the public, the false dichotomy of "children and adults", and safeguarding implications for c…

An interview with David Evans, Vice President for Training and Assessment at RCPCH, led by Lorraine Bullard, Quality & Standards Manager at the College. We talk to David about the Shape of Training programme of work and the College's Paediatrician of the Future document, a vision for the future of paediatric training and part of our submission to t…

Dr Dita Aswani, Dr Carrie Mackenzie and Dr Fiona Campbell talk with Dr Megan Peng and Dr Tricia Woodhead about their team's involvement in the early waves of the QI Collaborative.

Dr Carrie Mackenzie at Sheffield Children’s Hospital reflects on her team’s journey throughout the QI Collaborative programme and offers recommendations to teams wishing to embark on quality improvement projects of their own.