A new Bromley 0 to 19 Public Health Service launches in October 2020 to provide better, more co-ordinated, health guidance and support for children, young people and families in the borough.
The service will offer tailored guidance to families to help them understand and promote the development of their children for a healthy journey to adulthood.
This new service brings together health visiting, Family Nurse Partnership, health support to schools and the primary school screening programme. Delivered for Bromley Council by Bromley Healthcare, it will support behaviour change, promote preventative measures, as well as keep children safe.
The number of health visitors will increase and there will be more health visitor drop-in clinics, although currently running as booked appointments due to COVID-19. All services will benefit from working more closely together, making them more holistic. The Bromley 0 to19 Public Health Service will also be closely linked to local Children and Family Centres and the Bromley Children Project and work will continue with primary care and schools to complete the more co-ordinated approach for children and families.
The service will operate more efficiently through shared records agreements and a single point of access for both residents and health professionals. Guidance and advice from expert health visitors and school nurses will offer the support which will be delivered under four categories:
- 0-4 years old - delivering the 5 mandated health reviews and supporting vulnerable children and families.
- Family Nurse Partnership to support young parents aged 19 years and under and mothers up to the age of 24 with additional risk factors.
- 5-10 years old – delivering the National Child Measurement Programme and vision screening to children in reception and year 6 as well as supporting schools, children with health needs and vulnerable children.
- 11-19 years old - supporting schools and vulnerable young people.
In addition, the 5-19 element of the service will provide targeted support to specific groups of children in the borough such as young carers, vulnerable children and families and home educated children.
Dr Jenny Selway, Bromley Consultant in Public Health Medicine said: “We are excited to launch this new integrated 0 to19 health service for families in Bromley. Simplifying the process of identifying what individual children and families need and delivering support was a key consideration in this planned upgrade to local health services. An integrated 0 to 19 public health service and improved partnership working will deliver benefits for residents and professionals alike, especially with more health visitors than before delivering the care that is needed. Every effort is being made to minimise any disruption to families and others involved while we introduce the new 0-19 approach. Most existing health visitor clinics will continue as at present unless and until the rules around COVID-19 safety measures change. Any changes or additional clinics will be communicated widely in local areas.”
Safety measures and procedures for delivering the service will be guided by the government’s advice on working safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the national situation develops and circumstances change, the design and delivery of the 0-19 health service will evolve alongside these measures to ensure the safety of residents and staff.
For further updates about the service visit: bromleyhealthcare.org.uk/bromley0to19
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For media enquiries, please contact Susie Clark, Communications Executive, on 020 8461 7911 or email: susie.clark@bromley.gov.uk