Issue - meetings

Report CS18114

The Committee considered a report evaluating the new Health Support to Schools Service and requesting drawdown of £303k from the Better Care Fund to continue the existing service for 2018/19 as well as the agreement of the Council’s Executive to drawdown £300k from the Better Care Fund to appoint an additional six nurses for the remainder of the existing Health Support to Schools contract which would end on 31^st March 2019.

At its meeting on 30^th November 2016, the Council’s Executive agreed to fund a new service to support the health of school age children for a period of two years, which would funded by the Better Care Fund to a total value of £606k.  Bromley Healthcare was commissioned to deliver the Health Support to Schools Service which commenced on 1^st April 2017.  A subsequent evaluation of this service in October 2017 identified that the team was only able to offer very limited safeguarding support in schools due to capacity issues, and it was proposed that an additional six nurses be appointed to the Health Support to Schools Service with five of the proposed six posts to be dedicated to safeguarding.  Schools had indicated that they would not be willing to pay for statutory School Nurse functions such as safeguarding, and the contribution from schools to the Health Support to Schools Service would be explored in a further report to the Council’s Executive in Summer 2018.  The proposals relating to funding school nursing support for children and young people with asthma within the report were in response to a number of recent deaths from asthma in schools outside Bromley and would support a specific piece of work to develop and align systems in primary care with Individual Health Care Plans for children with asthma in Bromley schools. 

The Consultant in Public Health Medicine advised Members that school nurses worked most effectively when their specialist knowledge was contributing towards existing school systems.  Schools were very knowledgeable about their pupils’ health needs but there was a need to ensure this was supported by robust information systems which allowed an holistic Individual Health Care Plan to be developed for children with medical needs.  A Co-opted Member queried the average spend of around £11 per head on school nursing in Bromley for 2018/19 against other London local authorities.  The Consultant in Public Health Medicine explained that the areas of work included in the school nursing role varied widely across local authorities which accounted for the disparity in funding levels.  The Local Authority had undertaken a range of work to identify how the school nursing role could be delivered most effectively across Bromley and service provision would continue to be regularly evaluated.

In response to a question from a Member, the Consultant in Public Health Medicine confirmed that the Council’s Executive had agreed that the Health Support to Schools Service be funded by the Better Care Fund for the proposed two year duration of the service but that a further  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70