Case Studies
Health Needs Assessment for Children & Young People
SPH carried out a Health Needs Assessment for a local authority that was recommissioning its Healthy Child Programme (HCP). The purpose was to review whether existing provision and service configuration of the HCP was meeting the needs of children and young people) in the county, and to identify gaps and potential options for improvement. The Healthy Child Programme is a preventative programme which includes the Health Visiting and School Nursing Services, the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) Programme and healthy start vouchers and vitamins, linking with childhood immunisation services, community paediatrics, speech and language, services for children with a learning disability and complex needs and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), among others.
The HNA was carried out jointly by NHS Solutions for Public Health and the local authority, with the epidemiological needs assessment and service description provided by the local authority. The report was compiled using a range of publicly available and locally collected epidemiological and service use data). In addition, SPH carried out a consultation of key corporate stakeholders as well as children and young people and their parents and carers. This included semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in a range of organisations, a survey of a wider range of staff who work with children and young people and a survey of children and young people, their parents and cares which was distributed through the services.