Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Public Health which updated Members on the 0-25 Family Health Service workforce and service delivery across County Durham (for copy of report and presentation slides, see file of minutes).

Amanda Smith, General Manager, Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust provided an overview of the 0-25 Family Health Service County Durham; planned changes to service delivery following agreement of the 2-year contract extension to be enacted and the Key Highlights of the Workforce and Challenges.

The General Manager, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust advised that in February 2024 the percentage of Health Visitor vacancies was 19%, however following work being undertaken by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust in relation to recruitment, retention and Specialist Community Public Health Practitioners (SCPHNs) the percentage of Health Visitor vacancies in September 2024 had reduced to 6%.

Following the presentation, the General Manager answered questions around the agencies involved with and some of the challenges with implementing family and perinatal support for complex needs families. The TEWV Specialist Perinatal Mental Health team offered support for moderate to high level referrals, the 0-24 Family health Service Perinatal Mental Health Team offered support for low to moderate issues, but it was recognised that not all mothers would meet this level of need. There was further support provided through other partners including GP practices and Universal Health Visitors who were trained in emotional wellbeing visits and offered 6 visits. She explained that where there were specific needs, the 0-25 Perinatal Mental Health Team could offer more general support through, for example, wellbeing walks and breastfeeding groups. The robust partnership of support ensured that low to moderate needs were tracked and supported.

Councillor Anderson referred to perinatal mental health and highlighted that the CAMHS were dealing with a backlog of referrals so queried whether there was a possibility for family health referrals to be missed due to delays in supporting families. 

The General Manager Harrogate and District Foundation Trust advised that in relation to perinatal mental health low to moderate was dealt with via the service but moderate to high was dealt with via Tees Esk and Wear Valley Foundation Trust (TEWV) to discuss where cases sit, and a strategic approach to perinatal mental health will be developed.  Health Visitors provide six emotional wellbeing visits, family peer support provideed universal support for mothers who are breastfeeding, there are wellbeing walks; this has grown into a robust offer.  The strategy work will enable partners to review and check that the right services are involved and there are no gaps.

Martyn Stenton, Head of Early Help, Inclusion and Vulnerable Children, advised that he was aware of members concerns for young people requiring mental health intervention services, but it was not the same for adults.  Work does take place in the Family Hubs to support mental health which was valuable.  He added that there was an indication in the Autumn Budget that funding would continue but unfortunately, he could not give an indication of what this would be.  He advised that when he attends Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny special meeting on 27 January 2025, he would give an update as external funding would be included in his item.

The General Manager responded to an observation made by Mrs Wilson that mental health services were aimed at parents known to a child from birth which excluded stepparents that entered a child’s life at a later stage. She added that the wording ‘parents/carers’ was inclusive and noted that stepparents also fell under this term. There was support available through the service for mental health of parents/carers of children up to 2 years old which was the perinatal period.

Professor Ciesielska followed up on the use of the digital pathways App ‘0-25 Growing Healthy’ by parents and young people.  The General Manager shared that parent/carer and young people using the App had increased with the health chat function being well used. User feedback was invited which it was hoped would be gathered through a QR code sent after each interaction to aid quicker and easier feedback from users. Recent updates to the App included ‘Recite Me’ a service that increased accessibility for clients whose first language was not English, those with dyslexia, and those unable to read or who had literacy challenges.  Young People engaging via the App were covered under the Fraser Guidance so there was not a requirement to contact parents when a child had made contact through that channel when an assessment had been made of the understanding of the young person in relation to the advice they were seeking.

Resolved: That the contents of the report and presentation be noted.