The report of the Director of Public Health (Document “T”) provides an overview of the 0-19 Public Health service and informs Members of:

1.    Background to the 0-19 Public Health Children’s Service

2.    The needs of children and young people locally

3.    Service reviews conducted during 2020-2021

4.    Current service delivery

5.    Future commissioning arrangements

Recommended –

It is recommended that Members note the contents of the report and continued progress to improve the 0-19 service during the remainder of the contract (to April 2023) and for re-commissioning of the service.

(Duncan Cooper - 01274 434289)

The report of the Director of Public Health (Document “T”) provided an overview of the 0-19 Public Health service and informs Members of:

·         Background to the 0-19 Public Health Children’s Service

·         The needs of children and young people locally

·         Service reviews conducted during 2020-2021

·         Current service delivery

·         Future commissioning arrangements

The Consultant in Public Health at Bradford Council was present and narrated the importance in achieving the improvement of children and young people’s health was of paramount importance for Public Health.

Through the National Healthy Child Programme 0 to 19, included a Health Visitors Service, a School Nursing Service, and also in the Bradford Distinct, an Oral Health Promotion Team. The Council as an authority, and the Director of Public Health (DPH) each had specific statutory duties relating to the delivery of the 0-19 Public Health Children’s Service (0-19 service) and its specific mandated functions within this included the five health checks for young children, the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) and district wide Oral Health surveys; continued delivery of such must therefore be secured. The Healthy Child Programme provides a national framework to support collaborative work and more integrated delivery.

Following the update, a question and answer session ensued:

·         How were the national shortages of staffing challenges which were caused by the pandemic and recruitment issues, in specific, the lack of experienced health visitors and school nurses being addressed?

o   A recruitment plan to increase the skill mix within the health visiting service to ease the workload of the health visitors particularly in the universal tier included a targeted advertising campaign for difficult to recruit to posts;

·         What challenges did the service consider to lay ahead?

o   0-4 years’ health visiting services was considered a risk as BDCFT was the main provider of health visiting services. However, a number of steps to mitigate the risks posed by segments of retirement levels including the pandemic and national workforce challenges, included a community children’s services Strategy Team at BDCFT established to ease the impact of the amount of safeguarding strategy discussions and social care enquires on the health visiting and school nursing service. Also a recruitment plan to increase the skill mix within the health visiting service to ease the workload of the health visitors particularly in the universal tier;

·         How was the information collected through the 0-4 years’ research help channel programme framework?

o   This assisted in the integrated providing interventions, which aimed to help parents’ carers and guardians to protect children; this included:

§  To help parents, carers or guardians to develop and sustain a strong bond with children.

§  To support parents, carers or guardians in keeping children healthy, safe and reaching their full potential.

§  To protect children from serious disease, through screening and immunisation.

§  Reducing childhood obesity by promoting healthy eating and physical activity.

§  To promote oral health.

§  To support resilience and positive maternal and family mental health.

§  Supported the development of healthy relationships and good sexual and reproductive health.

§  To identify health and wellbeing issues early, so support and early interventions could be provided in a timely manner;

§  To ensure children were prepared for and supported in all childcare, early years and education settings and were especially supported to be ready to learn at 2 and ready for school by 5.

·         How were the physical and mental health and wellbeing, and additional needs and vulnerabilities of children being understood?

o   In terms of our requirements for a preventative approach and public health approach, the service had worked closely to ensure a robust training plan was in place. School nursing had a unique role, with a holistic overview of children and circumstances. Their role in relation to schools enabled them to play an important prevention role, identify issues and support or refer early. The aim of the school nursing review was to review the role of the current school nursing; look at other services/roles available in schools to wellbeing; consult with the school nursing team; and, also to draw on alternative models across the region.

The committee made the following comments:

·         It was paramount to improve services that people could have access to within local communities;

·         Better outcomes would result in a better standard of life for children;

·         Improving the lifestyle of the population as a whole as opposed to race scales but on a local setting would make a significant difference in inequalities; and,

·         Strengthening a system-level approach was ideal with multi-agency agreement on the way forward to make positive changes to the needs of the most vulnerable.

Resolved: -

That the continued progress to improve the 0-19 service during the remainder of the contract (to April 2023) and for re-commissioning of the service be noted.

Action: Director of Public Health