Children and Maternity

S.W.I.F.T. - Strategic Workforce Investment Funds for Tomorrow

Children and Maternity

Summary

This project has focused on one key area within child and maternal health:
Improving Children’s' Health and Wellbeing, and has supported the implementation and on-going development of the Healthy Child Programme, by maximising and developing the skills and competencies across early years teams. The Healthy Child Programme is a high quality early intervention, clinical and prevention public health programme, which begins in pregnancy and extends through childhood into the end of the teenage years. Within the current early years teams (health professionals, including health visitors, registered nurses, GPs and assistant practitioners such as support assistants, nursery nurses, health trainers and family support workers) there is a diverse range of skills that are not sufficiently integrated to deliver HCP in line with the DH guidance. This project has specifically focused on developing a Healthy Child Programme lead professional to co-ordinate the care given to families with a child under 5 years of age, more collaboratively across the early years team. This project has supported the development of an effective, competent and confident workforce, capable of delivering the HCP and will have the following characteristics:

• An agreed and defined role for the health visitor as HCP lead.
• Multi-skilled team working involving a range of practitioners across General Practice and children’s centres
• A team with up-to-date knowledge and skills
• A team with competencies to work in partnership with children, mothers, fathers and families to deliver core elements of the HCP and to work effectively across service boundaries.

Action to date

This project has now been completed and the findings and recommendations have been shared with Project Sponsors and Advisors, a full copy of the report is available via the Pdf link below.

If you would like any further information on this or any of SWIFT projects please e-mail: swiftprojects@norfolk.nhs.uk

Additional Information

Sponsoring Organisations:

• NHS Norfolk
• NHS Great Yarmouth & Waveney
• Norfolk County Council

Timeframe:

• Commence date: March 2010
• End date: Feb 2011

Contact: Steve Gledhill 01603 257282