NHS: The Family They Never Had In the sterile corridors of Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, a young man named James Stokes navigates his daily responsibilities with subtle confidence. His smart shoes barely make a sound as he exchanges pleasantries with colleagues—some by name, others with the comfortable currency of a "hello there." James carries his identification not merely as an employee badge but as a symbol of belonging. It hangs against a pressed shirt that offers no clue of the difficult path that preceded his arrival. What separates James from many of his colleagues is not obvious to the casual observer. His presence discloses nothing of the fact that he was among the first beneficiaries of the NHS Universal Family Programme—an undertaking created purposefully for young people who have been through the care system. "It felt like the NHS was putting its arm around me," James explains, his voice controlled but revealing subtle passion. His statement encapsulates the core of a programme that aims to reinvent how the vast healthcare system perceives care leavers—those often overlooked young people aged 16-25 who have transitioned from the care system. The statistics reveal a challenging reality. Care leavers frequently encounter higher rates of mental health issues, economic uncertainty, housing precarity, and lower academic success compared to their contemporaries. Beneath these impersonal figures are individual journeys of young people who have navigated a system that, despite good efforts, often falls short in delivering the nurturing environment that shapes most young lives. The NHS Universal Family Programme, initiated in January 2023 following NHS England's commitment to the Care Leaver Covenant, represents a substantial transformation in organizational perspective.