Agenda item

The Health Scrutiny Committee received a report of the Director of Public Health that updated members on the Healthy Child Programme in the Oldham. Borough. The report provided an overview of the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme in Oldham, and the progress over the past twelve months. The report outlined the current performance of the related services.

The Healthy Child Programme (HCP) was launched 11 years ago and was still the national evidence based universal programme for children aged 0-19. The programme provided the bedrock for health improvement, public health and supporting families.  The HCP was not the responsibility of any individual service but was instead a partnership approach. The programme was led by health visiting and school nursing services

Work was ongoing at a national level to modernise the programme, to ensure that it was both current in terms of evidence and context. There was to be a greater focus on local assets and community-based approaches as well as ensuring that services put children at the heart of how the HCP was delivered whilst ensuring that the programme has a stronger emphasis on what works. 

In Oldham, the health visiting, school nursing services, Children’s Centres, and Early Education support had previously provided by Bridgewater Community NHS Trust and were now delivered by Northern Care Alliance in partnership with Oldham Council.  This new partnership came into place on 1^st April 2022. Local Authorities are mandated to provide some key public health services, and this service includes a number of these on our behalf.  These are: health visitor reviews of pregnant women and young children; weighing and measuring children at Reception and Year 6; and oral health promotion programmes as deemed necessary for the area.

Overall, when compared with England-wide averages, the health and wellbeing of children in Oldham was amongst the worst performing. Health outcomes for children were, it was reported, impacted by poverty in a similar way that health outcomes for adults were. Breastfeeding rates were worse than England-wide averages; 49.1% of new-borns received breast milk as their first feed. The proportion of babies breastfed at between six and eight weeks after birth increased during the Covid-19 pandemic and in 2020/21 was 41.0%. There have been improvements in some of the Borough’s Wards which had recorded the lowest rates of breastfeeding but emerging information from the service indicates that these rates were not sustained at the higher level.

Likewise dental health was worse than the England-wide average. 43.2% of five-year-olds had experience of dental decay.  As a response to this, the Right Start service includes an Oral Health element which was to be included in the new model to support good oral health in children under five years.

Resolved:

1.    That the Committee notes the progress on the transformation programme and support the ongoing actions to further develop the integrated model for 0-19 services in the Borough of Oldham.

2.    That a further update report on this matter be submitted to the Committee in approximately 12 months.