£10m-a-year contract win to provide children’s healthcare
Our Trust is one of four healthcare providers to be awarded the £10m-a-year Kirklees healthy child contract.
Kirklees Council, working with NHS North Kirklees and NHS Greater Huddersfield clinical commissioning groups, has awarded the healthy child programme contract to a partnership of local providers.
Working under the banner of ‘Thriving Kirklees’, it is led by Locala Community Partnerships and also includes Northorpe Hall, Home-Start and Yorkshire Children’s Centre. Our Trust’s role will be to provide child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) across the region.
The Kirklees integrated healthy child programme covers a range of support for children and young people’s health and wellbeing from health improvement and prevention, to support and treatment for children and young people with mental health problems.
The new partnership will take responsibility for 11 areas of health provision for children and young people aged between 0 and 19 years (or up to 25 years for disabled children) and their families including:
- Health visiting and family nurse partnership
- School nursing
- Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
- Single access point for 0 – 19 services
- Children’s weight management service
- Assessment and diagnosis of autistic spectrum conditions
- Support for children and young people with learning disabilities
The new contract will start on 1 April 2017. It is initially for a five year period with an option to extend for up to a further five years.
Carol Harris, Director of specialist and forensic services at the Trust said: “Making sure children, young people and their families and carers are at the centre of care is crucial. This partnership means we’ll be better placed than ever to make sure services work closely together to provide the best possible mental health care to the young people of Kirklees”.
Cllr Viv Kendrick, portfolio holder for adults and health at Kirklees Council said: “The award of this contract signals the start of a more integrated child and family health service. By taking such an innovative approach and joining up this range of provision, we will be able to improve outcomes for young people and families in Kirklees”.
Robert Flack, Locala Community Partnerships chief executive said: “Locala is delighted to be leading the partnership that has been awarded the contract to deliver the Healthy Child Programme in Kirklees. There has been an exciting and innovative approach taken by both commissioner and providers, and a genuine desire by all partners involved to work together to deliver the best possible services for children, young people and families across Kirklees.”
Alan Hedgecox, Chair of Trustees for Home-Start Kirklees said: “Home-Start Kirklees are pleased and proud to be part of the successful bid and look forward to continue, and expand the current support we provide to families with preschool aged children throughout Kirklees.”