Weigh to Go!

In 2018, the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) published its Each and Every Need report which identified that weight and height were not recorded in all children and young people (CYP). One of the key recommendations is that: “patients with neurodisabling conditions should have their weight and nutritional status considered at every healthcare encounter, and assessed and recorded based on clinical need.”

Weigh to Go! is a BACD initiative raising awareness of the need to weigh and measure all children and young people regularly, including those who are vulnerable, physically disabled, and neurodevelopmentally diverse, to ensure:

• they get the right amount of medication
• they are healthy and growing well

However, not all UK healthcare providers and environments have the facilities, resources, or skills to accurately weigh and measure children and young people. 

Whilst BACD acknowledges that it is not always clinically appropriate to weigh and measure every child and young person on every visit (e.g. if their growth is being monitored elsewhere, or if they have very frequent assessments) it believes it is unacceptable that weight and nutritional status should not be considered and recorded during every encounter, and that all child and young person health services should be able to offer the facility to record weight and height for all children and young people.

We invite all UK healthcare providers to:

• sign up to Weigh to Go! with a commitment to ensure all children and young people are weighed and measured regularly and be your organisation's nominated Weigh to Go! champion
• ensure that clinics have appropriate facilities and that staff have the right skills 
• undertake an annual audit