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RCPCH Ambassadors - supporting advocacy for children and young people locally and nationally in England

Health Policy team
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Ambassadors are volunteer RCPCH members who use their clinical expertise and local knowledge to help create positive change. They share local information with the College on whether and how health systems are meeting the needs of children and young people. And, they advocate for both children’s services and the child health workforce.

Recruitment for new Ambassadors is currently paused.
Last modified
5 September 2024
Post date
28 February 2022
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Background

The RCPCH Ambassadors programme started in 2019 in response to concerns that the needs of children may be forgotten as the responsibility for service, workforce and financial planning responsibilities moved to (±õ°ä³§).Ìý

The College became increasingly concerned about the deprioritisation of children in national policy. We also noted the pressure on members' capacity meant there was less time for volunteering activities. In 2023 we made some changes to the Ambassador role so it could effectively support our influencing work to increase the profile of children's health services.

What do Ambassadors do? 

Ambassadors have two key roles:

  • Share information with the College. We send regular emails to ask for each Ambassador's on-the-ground, local experiences around a specific theme. The information we get helps us build a picture of whether and how systems across England are meeting the needs of children and young people and how improvements and integration are happening locally. All of this informs our influencing work on a national basis with Government and policymakers.
  • Advocate for the integration and improvement of children’s services and for the child health workforce. We share emerging learning and good practice examples we get with all Ambassadors. This can be used by Ambassadors to support their advocacy where they work - whether it's in their health service, Trust or ICS.

We share resources and tools to support Ambassadors to advocate for children in services and strategy development. For example, when a new strategy or long term plan comes out from NHSE, RCPCH can summarise what this means for children and the paediatric workforce, and set out what Ambassadors can do within their systems to highlight the needs of children and ensure there is parity of focus. This could also include sharing tools, sources of local and regional data, and case studies. 

There are no limits on the number of Ambassadors. This role focuses on localised advocacy and gathering information. We can gain a comprehensive perspective from across England so we can help improve child health locally and nationally.

You can download the role description below.

Applying for a role

We are not currently accepting applications. For information, please email the Health Policy team on ambassadors@rcpch.ac.uk.