We have now come to the end of the Department of Health funded work. We have the pleasure in attaching the Final Report Caring For Better Health, a Toolkit for Commissioners and 45 Ways, a leaflet to help professionals working with care leavers.
Health outcomes for care leavers are poorer than non- care peers. And this goes for care leavers of all ages. We have to pay more attention to this situation, focusing on why this is and what can we do to make an improvement. We also have to think longer term. What happens to us before and during care can have long lasting effects. Services and interventions must not just be quick fixes but provide lasting solutions. More focus needs to be placed on mental health which includes emotional well being. Many care leavers we encountered did not have diagnosed mental health issues, but had serious well-being issues that prevented them from living life fully. Care leavers have every right to lead a happy and fulfilling life. We must all work harder to make this happen.
The report and tools were all developed by talking to care leavers.
If you would like to more information on our work, or would like us to work with you to improve care leaver health outcomes then contact info@careleavers.com
Caring for Better Health Final Report