LAUSR

Prevention is better than cure. Early help for children is the total support that improves a family's resilience and outcomes, or reduces the chance of a problem getting worse. Early help has been likened to a fence at the top of the cliff, rather than the ambulance at the bottom. However, many healthcare systems have tended to under invest in services that reduce demand to acute services. In the UK it has been difficult to plan a whole system approach to early help across a local area. Austerity and the COVID-19 pandemic have brought further challenges to disadvantaged families, NHS, local authorities, police, schools and other local partners. However, a new model of early help is emerging, in collaboration with partners, with communities and with families. By pro-actively reaching out and compassionately supporting families before their needs escalate, through a new category of service delivery, we are able to reduce future demand as well as providing more human engagement and help. This paper includes an overview of early help design, emerging changes that paediatricians will contribute to in their localities, the national vision, and an example from Birmingham Children's Partnership that shows how an early help response supported families through the pandemic.