Empowering communities to address health inequalities

Parent Champions

Beyond, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside's children and young people's transformation programme, has implemented a successful ‘Parent Champions’ model to address health inequalities in early childhood, specifically in relation to respiratory illness, asthma, and oral health.

Parent Champions are trained community members with lived experience who provide health education, build parental confidence, and connect families to services, especially in underserved and deprived areas.

Parents supported through this peer-led model reported greater confidence and understanding of their child’s health, and an independent evaluation found that the model helped to engage hard-to-reach families.

The initiative also saw a reduction in respiratory hospital admissions alongside an increased uptake of preventive care, providing the NHS with an estimated £1.30 in net savings for every £1 spent on the programme.