Transition of care from paediatric to adult services: one part of improved health services for adolescents

Ensuring a safe and effective transition of young people with chronic illness and disability from paediatric care to adult health services is a key quality issue for the NHS. To achieve this, three elements must be pursued with vigour. Firstly, a cultural shift in NHS staff attitudes and training is required. Secondly, systems must change to ensure that all paediatric chronic illness and disability services have effective transition programmes in place. Thirdly, young patients need to be trained and empowered to allow them to be an effective partner in their own transition. Improvement of this transition is merely one part of a wider need to improve health care for adolescents.