This article outlines the current policies surrounding unwell children and young people and looks at how parents make decisions on which service to contact first.

This article explores some of the differences between adult and child health services and aims to assist readers appreciate the possible inequalities that can occur. In order to achieve this, different factors affecting child development are explored and the problems of developing policies and practices that support children’s health considered.

An exploration of what family-centred care means for the hospitalised child, families, children’s nurses, policy makers and managers