0-19 Healthy Child Programme procurement consultation

Feedback updated 11 Jul 2023

We asked

In March / April 2023 we undertook a public consultation with parents/ carers, families, and the workforce delivering, and receiving, the 0-19 Healthy Child Programme, to gather views on the use of a Section 75 Agreement to re-commission Leicestershire Partnership NHS’s Healthy Together service to continue to run the offer, as well as to get feedback on proposed changes to the 0-19 Healthy Child Programme offer.

We asked respondents to give their views on the following proposals:

The use of a Section 75 Agreement between Leicester City Council and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust to provide the 0-19 Healthy Child Programme in Leicester.
Alterations to the delivery of the 3-4 month review for babies, including signposting to online resources and support, with face-to-face contact offered for families who need it. Introduction of a review for children aged 3-3.5 years, predominantly digitally, with face-to-face support offered for families who need it.
Removal of the intensive health visiting (Early Start) offer, replaced by support provided by local neighbourhood public health nursing (health visiting) teams.
Increased roll out of the Year 7, 9, and 11 Digital Health Contact.

You said

114 responses were received via our online consultation platform from parents, carers, 0-19 Healthy Child Programme workforce, Leicester City Council staff and other relevant workforce staff. Responses were analysed by council officers, and a summary of the findings are below:

Section 75 Agreement:

55 respondents ‘Strongly Agreed’ or ‘Agreed’ with the proposal (70.5%)
10 respondents ‘Strongly Disagreed’ or ‘Disagreed’ with the proposal (12.8%)
13 respondents ‘Did Not Know’ or had ‘No Opinion Either Way’ (16.6%)

3-4 Month Contact

59 respondents were fully or partially supportive of the proposal (53.2%)
39 respondents were not supportive at all of the proposal (35.1%)
13 respondents either had no opinion either way or did not answer (11.7%)

3-3.5 Year Review

87 respondents were fully or partially supportive of the proposal (80.5%)
10 respondents were not supportive at all of the proposal (9.3%)
11 respondents either had no opinion either way or did not answer (10.2%)

Intensive Health Visiting (Early Start)

59 respondents were fully or partially supportive of the proposal (52.7%)
39 respondents were not supportive at all of the proposal (34.8%)
14 respondents either had no opinion either way or did not answer (12.5%)

Year 7, 9, and 11 Digital Health Contact

86 respondents were fully or partially supportive of the proposal (78.2%)
7 respondents were not supportive at all of the proposal (6.4%)
17 respondents either had no opinion either way or did not answer (15.5%)

Additional stakeholder feedback was also received outside of this online process including sessions with young people and parents.

We did

A decision has been made by Leicester City Council to use a Section 75 Agreement to continue to commission Leicestershire Partnership Trust to deliver the 0-19 Healthy Child Programme in Leicester.

The changes proposed in the consultation will be implemented and the new contract will commence October 2023 and run for seven years.

Feedback and comments received reflected what the council had already considered, and issues will be addressed and mitigated in the new contract due to start in October 2023.

Overview

The 0-19 Healthy Child Programme (0-19HCP) - also known locally as Healthy Together - looks after the health and wellbeing of all children in Leicester under the age of 19. It is delivered by Public Health Nurses (Health Visitors and School Nurses) and their teams across the city.

Leicester City Council have commissioned Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust to deliver the 0-19HCP since 1 July 2017.

Leicester City Council are proposing to keep Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust as the provider, as it is a high performing service, and to recommission 0-19HCP by using Section 75 of the National Health Services Act of 2006. The new contract would start from 1 October 2023 and run until 30 September 2030.

Under this new contract most families and young people will see little difference in the service that they receive. Cost savings of £200,000 will be achieved through different ways of working and using a wider range of highly skilled staff in the delivery of the service (known as a ‘skill-mix model’).

Public Health Nurses (Health Visitors and School Nurses) will remain the main contact for children, young people and their families, and some support, where it is safe and appropriate to do so, will be delegated to other Healthy Together team members.

The aim of this consultation is to seek the views of anyone who might be affected by proposed changes to 0-19 HCP services:

Early Start (the intensive Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting) support programme) will stop and be replaced with support provided by local neighbourhood Public Health Nursing (Health Visiting) teams.
The contact made for babies at 4 months will be for all families, signposting to online resources and support, with face-to-face support offered for families who need it.
Introduction of a new contact for children aged 3-3.5 years, predominantly in a digital way, with face-to-face support offered for families who need it.
Expansion of the year 7, 9 and 11 Digital Health Contact into more secondary schools in the city.

We are also seeking views on the proposed use of a Section 75 recommissioning process.

This consultation follows an extensive engagement exercise with parents and staff in 2022 and outlines some changes in response to the feedback received during that engagement.

Areas

All Areas

Audiences

All residents
Health services
Early years providers (child minders, nurseries, etc)
All Public and Private Organisations
Partner agencies

Interests

Children's social care and safeguarding
Services for young people
Services for younger children and families

Contact