NHS Fife has published its Children’s Rights Report, becoming among the first local health boards to do so since the incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into Scots law. The report highlights the progress made to ensure children and young people are safe, heard and treated fairly across healthcare services in Fife
The UNCRC is an international agreement that sets out the rights of every child under the age of 18, ensuring they are protected, able to grow up healthy and have a say in decisions that affect them. It became part of Scots law in July 2024, placing a legal duty on public bodies, including NHS Boards, to act compatibly with children’s rights in everything they do.
The report, covering the period July 2024 to March 2026, sets out how NHS Fife and the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership are embedding children’s rights across services, decision-making and day-to-day care. This means taking a proactive, rights-based approach to healthcare, ensuring children’s views are considered, services are accessible and inclusive, and all decisions support their wellbeing and development.
The report highlights a range of progress during the first reporting period, including embedding children’s rights in policies and governance, strengthening the voice of children and young people through engagement and participation, improving equitable access to services, and developing more child-friendly communication tools and approaches.
The report also identifies areas where further work is planned to continue progress in meeting the needs of children in touch with health and care services in Fife.
Alongside the main report, a child-friendly version explains in accessible language how children’s rights help them to be safe, healthy, listened to and treated fairly when using health and care services in Fife.
Tom Donaldson is a Specialty Registrar in Public Health and is part of the team helping to embed the UNCRC principles across healthcare services in Fife. Mr Donaldson said:
“The incorporation of the UNCRC for public bodies in Scotland marked an important step forward in ensuring that children’s rights are at the heart of everything we do.
“We are proud to be among the first health boards in Scotland to publish our Children’s Rights report following incorporation of the UNCRC. This report shows the progress we have made to embed a rights-based approach across both NHS Fife and the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership.
“It also demonstrates that healthcare and social care services in Fife are listening more closely to the voices of children and young people, making our services more inclusive and accessible.
“While there is more to do, we are committed to working with partners and communities to make sure every child and young person in Fife is supported to be safe, healthy and heard.”
The UNCRC Children’s Rights Report is available on the NHS Fife website, alongside the child-friendly version of the report.
For more information on the UNCRC in healthcare services in Fife, visit: www.nhsfife.org/uncrc.
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Image:
Boy reading the child-friendly version of the UNCRC Children's Rights Report for Fife - [DOWNLOAD]
Audio:
Speciality registrar in public health, Tom Donaldson, discusses the embedding of the UNCRC principles across healthcare services in Fife - [DOWNLOAD].
