The Royal College of Nursing Community Children’s Nursing Forum was delighted to see the collection of articles on community paediatrics in the February edition of Archives,¹ though one thing that did concern us greatly was the failure in most of the articles to acknowledge the role of the community children’s nurse (CCN) in supporting children with an increasingly complex range of health care needs within the community. While Hall and Lowson’s examination of the role of the nurse practitioner² provided one example of innovative practice in primary care, for many, many children the mainstay of care in the community is the CCN!

Over 50 years ago when the Rotherham Community Children’s Nursing Service,³ Paddington Home Care Team,⁴ and the Birmingham Children’s Home Care Service⁵ were introduced, the work of pioneering community children’s nurses owed much to the inspiration of paediatric medical staff based in the children’s hospital services in those areas. In the early days of these services, the availability of an “acute paediatrician” to visit children in their own homes was arguably key to the acceptance of the nursing teams within the community care arena.

In the Paddington Home Care Team, the continuous appointment of registrar grade paediatricians during the past 50 years has “tested the water” on many facets of the general practitioner paediatrician (GPP)/primary care paediatrician (PCP) debate. It is perhaps surprising, therefore, that in spite of the pioneering spirit of Reginald Lightwood, Freddie Brimblecombe, …