Final Report > Chapter 21: Introduction > Guiding principles underlying our approach and recommendations > The need to address the particular requirements of children's healthcare services

The need to address the particular requirements of children's healthcare services

24 It has been clear for a long time that healthcare services for children need to be improved. What is shocking is how hard it seems to be to bring this about. Fundamentally, it has to be accepted that children have particular healthcare needs which are indisputably distinct from those of adults. While there are many examples of good healthcare services for children, there are still too many circumstances in which children have to make do with services designed for adults which are quite simply unsuitable and inappropriate for children. We cannot say too loudly that this is wrong. As a society we can do better for our children; we must do better. While we believe that children will benefit from the more general recommendations in this Report, more needs to be done, and done urgently, to address the particular needs of children. Thus we devote a separate chapter of the Report to this crucial area of healthcare.