LAUSR

Advances in treatment and care result in the majority of children with serious diseases surviving to adulthood. However, many experience longterm attendant health costs. As these children move through life, it is vital to optimise their health to allow them to live the life they want and be fully participatory members of society. The WHO defines health as a ‘state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’. This demonstrates that positive social outcomes are central to good health. Governments have a responsibility to provide adequate health and social measures to achieve this. One key theme of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 2040 Charter is the ‘whole child approach’ emphasising the need to look beyond physical health alone.