Addressing the gaps in health for children, Innovative Health Service delivery: Enhancing lifelong development and the health and wellbeing of marginalised children 0 to 18 years.

The Department of Health, Action Plan for Children and Young People states 22% of all children in Australia aged 0-14 years live in housing instability. Exposure to housing instability in childhood is significantly linked to long term ill-health, lower academic achievement, increased poor health physically and mentally, and increased risk of adult homelessness. Housing instability has created detrimental under-servicing for children at a time when they are developmentally vulnerable. Despite previous research in this area stating that children who are disconnected from health, education and social activities normally associated with childhood and appropriate child developmental have lifelong detrimental health and well-being outcomes, little has been done to address this deficit. This report details the outcomes of a pilot health services delivery model and practice that actively addresses the current health system deficits for children living in housing instability through a Nurse Practitioner (NP)-led clinic. Inner Southern Homeless Service provided a Nurse Practitioner-led clinic service for all homeless families with children from Dec 2019 to Oct 2020. The employed Nurse Practitioner was paediatric Emergency Department endorsed NP.