Health care for children from Beveridge to Kennedy: the band plays on

The Kennedy report "Getting it Right for Children and Young People: overcoming cultural barriers in the National Health Service so as to meet their need" (2010) can be seen in the context of a long line of reforming reports that include Beveridge (1942), Sheldon (1967) and Court (1976). In the last 60 years perinatal and infant mortality has been greatly reduced and immunisation greatly expanded. Currently, however, despite many triumphs, statistics for the delivery of child health-based services in the UK are not as satisfactory as those in comparable European Union countries. The Kennedy report and the issues it raises are discussed. General practitioners and those who work for them lack training in child health. Child and adolescent mental health services are inadequate. Suggestions for further discussion are made, for example, is there a case for a full integration of child psychiatry and paediatric training? How can postgraduate training for those working in child health services be made more interdisciplinary?