A LEADING provider of community healthcare services has been commissioned by Oldham Council to help deliver key services to local children and young people.
The local authority has awarded Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust the contract to deliver services including school nursing, health visiting, family nurse partnership and services in the borough’s 16 children’s centres from April 1, 2016.
The contract, which will run until March 31, 2019, was awarded under the council’s responsibilities for commissioning public health and children’s centre services and follows an open tender exercise in the summer of 2015.
An innovative new service called Right Start will work with families through pregnancy until their child starts school at five years old.
The service provides a range of support from Right Start practitioners such as health visitors, community nurses and early years staff.
These practitioners will work closely with other Right Start partners such as midwives, GPs, school nurses, early years settings and schools.
Families will be able to contact any of these professionals through local children’s centres and still enjoy the range of facilities and activities on offer.
Bridgewater will also be responsible for providing oral health services and school nursing and for five to 19 year olds, ensuring continuity and services which are easier to access and more efficient.
This new approach will improve information sharing across services and give commissioners and providers the ability to work together to provide the best possible services.
Bridgewater is an experienced NHS provider of children and young people’s community health services in Wigan, St Helens, Warrington and Halton and has recently taken over the contract in Bolton.
Councillor Jean Stretton, Oldham Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “This is a ground-breaking milestone for Oldham – a vision we have been striving to achieve for a long time.
“The challenge the council faces is to reduce spend whilst still ensuring all our young children are healthy and ready to learn when they go into education.
“This contract with Bridgewater enables us to transform our early years’ offer, aimed at giving every child the best possible start in life and reducing health inequalities.”
Colin Scales, Chief Executive of Bridgewater, said: “We are looking forward to implementing Oldham Council’s vision for a single service for under-fives to ensure children are developing well and are ready for school.
“Children will then be supported throughout their school years to age 19 through staff in the School Nursing Service.
“Around 200 Oldham-based staff will be welcomed into our trust and will be working with them as well as children, young people and their families to look at how we can develop services in the future.”
To find out more about the new Right Start service visit www.oldham.gov.uk/rightstart or find your local children’s centre here: www.oldham.gov.uk/childrens_centres
For more information on Bridgewater visit www.bridgewater.nhs.uk or follow @Bridgewater_NHS on Twitter or BridgewaterNHS on Facebook.
If you have any queries relating to the transfer of services please contact Bridgewater Patient Services on 0800 587 0561 or email patient.services@bridgewater.nhs.uk
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