RCPCH Podcasts

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 National Children and Young People’s Diabetes Network in April 2018. In the last five years, the programme has supported quality improvement programmes attended by thousands of clinicians, helped to improve services at several NHS trusts across the UK and performed multiple peer reviews to identify good clinical practice. The impact of this programme has been seen in the number of Trusts whose standards of care have risen as a direct result of the NDQP as well as the number of clinicians whose practice has improved to better deliver for children affected by Diabetes. Read our final report that highlights impact in England and Wales.

Now that the programme has ended, Clinical Lead Dr Fiona Campbell, OBE Chair of the National Children and Young People’s Diabetes Network in England and Wales and Consultant Paediatric Diabetes Leeds Children’s Hospital and members of the project team discussed the achievements and the lasting legacy of the programme on integrated care services (ICS) and Trusts across the UK.

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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 this first episode in a series of podcasts on epilepsy. With thanks to a grant from the Alison Hillman charitable trust, the podcasts will aim to improve the resources available for young people with epilepsy.

We publish this episode just before Purple Day this Sunday, 26 March, an annual international event dedicated to increasing awareness of epilepsy.

Evalyn Usher, a medical student who interned with the Medicines for Children team in summers 2021 and 2022, interviewed Fiona and Karen. Fiona was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was 11 years old. Her seizures have no obvious trigger and she's tried different anti-epileptic drugs to manage these, and help her live a full and sociable life. Her mum, Karen was at first worried about the misconceptions and stigma around epilepsy, the 'terrifying seizures' and how the condition would affect her daughter's future. But now she's learned more and what to do.

It's a fascinating discussion, and we hope it's both reassuring and inspiring to families.

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More about the podcast

Fiona was diagnosed with epilepsy at around 11 years of age, which is much later than for some children, and her seizures have no obvious trigger – Fiona doesn’t know when she is going to have one. Fiona has tried five or six different anti-epileptic drugs and is currently taking two. Whilst these have not stopped her seizures altogether, they have reduced the frequency. Nevertheless, it is clear from the podcast that Fiona lives a full and sociable life.

As an “older mum”, Karen was initially worried about the misconceptions and stigma that used to surround epilepsy and how the diagnosis might affect Fiona’s future. She is frank about how difficult she found the diagnosis and the period when Fiona had frequent seizures and they were trying different medicines. While she described early seizures as “terrifying”, and the fear of not knowing when one might happen, she has learnt to cope, and is now more matter of fact because she knows what is happening and what to do.

Fiona’s strategy has always been to be open about her epilepsy. In primary year 7 she did a presentation to her class explaining different types of epilepsy and what to do if someone has a seizure. Fiona is now active in the RCPCH Epilepsy12 Youth Advocates and is keen to increase awareness of epilepsy among children and young people, and to develop suitable information leaflets, as existing information is mostly for young children and adults. Fiona also wants to raise awareness of epilepsy in schools, as well as the mental health issues that young people living with epilepsy may face; she talks about the valuable support she received from a clinical psychologist.

Fiona and her mum talk about practical measures they take: Fiona’s friends know she has epilepsy, and what to do if she has a seizure. Fiona always has her mobile phone with her and a medical alert bracelet with her Dad’s phone number. She also has an Epilepsy Seizure Plan that she can share with school and college for example.

Karen’s advice to parents of a child with epilepsy is to be open about the condition. She emphasizes the value of talking to friends, family and health professionals for support and to develop coping mechanisms. Fiona finds talking with other people who live with epilepsy very useful and supportive – and she counsels against scary stories on the internet!

We hope this podcast will be useful and reassuring to families living with epilepsy or who are adjusting to a new diagnosis. Fiona and Karen are honest about how they have learnt to live with the condition, which we hope will inspire other families.

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 Editor and Mental Health Lead Dr James Dearden speaks to a number of its contributors. With a wealth of experience between them, they discuss the increase in mental health issues in young people and the role of paediatricians in supporting them.

It's really clear that that we need to involve ourselves in mental health. It's really clear that that's what young people are asking of us... We expect it these days of teachers, GPs, social workers, so we should absolutely expect it of ourselves.

Karen Street, consultant paediatrician and RCPCH Officer for Mental Health

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RCPCH resources for members on supporting child health mental health

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 respiratory paediatrician and Dr Alice Lee, paediatric trainee and clinical innovation research fellow, both at at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Ian and Alice are two of the authors of the RCPCH health inequalities toolkit published in autumn 2022. They talk about why paediatricians have a role in addressing health inequalities and provide advice on how to open up conversations with families.

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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 statement on the impact of climate change on global child health, including tips on what paediatricians can do to support this important issue which is already affecting almost all children around the world. See more and download transcript