New partnership to deliver services for children, young people & families
New partnership to deliver services for children, young people & families in Worcestershire
A new partnership led by Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust has secured the contract to deliver public health nursing services for children, young people and families across Worcestershire.
The Starting Well Partnership also includes Barnardo’s, Action for Children, and Redditch Borough Council and brings together a range of teams from health visitors, specialist nursery nurses, breastfeeding support, school health nurses, early help services and support for children who require more specialist care. The new contract will start from April 2020
It will support ‘parents to be’ and their children during the early years and will ensure young people’s health needs are met as they move through school towards adulthood. Starting Well Family Hubs in each of the county’s six districts will offer a range of support including parenting groups, information classes and baby development activities.
There will also be a greater focus on working alongside schools to identify and address health and wellbeing needs, and on improving the information available to parents and children through a new online offer. This will help to empower local families and young people to access networks and groups across the community to get the help and support they need.
Sally-Anne Osborne, Associate Director of Children, Young People and Families at Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, said: “The Starting Well Partnership will help make the county a great place to have and raise children with services organised around the needs of local parents/carers. The partnership will build on the fantastic work already happening across the county and is uniquely placed to further develop the local connections and relationships nurtured over recent years. This collective local knowledge and understanding will ensure children, young people and families have the support and care they need, where and when they need it”.
Councillor John Smith, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at Worcestershire County Council said: “We are very pleased to be working closely with Worcestershire Health & Care NHS Trust and partners to deliver the prevention and early intervention service and to improve outcomes for our children, young people and families