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(Medway Council and NHS Medway Clinical Commissioning Group)
I have always worked in children’s services having joined Medway Council in 2004 and working across the Council and Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) since 2015. I lead on a programme of commissioning services for children and families; included in the programme are therapy services and community paediatrics which have been a key focus recently.
Commissioning is the process by which health and care services are planned, purchased and monitored. The challenging financial backdrop experienced by Council’s and CCGs heightens the need for services that really deliver on outcomes for children and families.
I have lived in Medway all my life and have family and friends locally. As a parent of two young children, I am
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committed to ensuring that the services that we have available to children and young people are high quality and tailored towards their individual needs.
In June 2018 the new children’s community health contract commenced after a competitive tender process. Medway Community Healthcare (MCH) is now the provider of these services in Medway. This was the result of planning and a procurement process that had taken place over several years, and, involved a wide range of stakeholders with parents, carers and young people being involved in the evaluation of services. At the same time work was underway to create Medway’s new child development centre (Snapdragons) to help enable effective service delivery.The drive behind all this work was to create quality services that were easy for families to access and find their way through. We integrated clinical services with universal services such as health visiting and school nursing so we had a more joined up approach that focused on prevention.
I recognise that there have been some challenges in the first year of the new system. That said, we now have a service which is much more stabilised and is demonstrating positive patient outcomes and showing promising feedback from parents. We work in close partnership with Medway Community Healthcare and Medway Parent & Carers Forum to ensure that issues that are brought to our attention are resolved appropriately.
We will shortly be undertaking a stakeholder survey to gain further valuable feedback about the services that we commission. We will continue to hold regular joint working meetings with the Medway Parent Carer Forum to gain insight into themes and trends that arise as a result of parent feedback.
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Medway Parents and Carers Forum is a pan disability group formed ten years ago to help bring together parents, families and carers of children and young people, (from 0-25) with a variety of disabilities and support needs, to have a voice within Medway. We welcome families from any background and with any additional needs; and membership is free. |
Throughout the last ten years, we have continued to do this, with a steadily growing membership, providing feedback and ensuring that the best outcomes possible for our children and young people are available, working in partnership with local support providers and partners.
The summer holidays have been busy with many of our volunteers on holiday as well as children not at school however, they have still attended transport meetings and liaison meetings with Medway Council.
We are currently holding coffee mornings over various sites across Medway and we are looking forward to our next meeting on 24th September at St Nicholas church in Strood at 10am. To find out more about our coffee mornings and events please check our Facebook page.
If you would like to join or would like more details about volunteering, please contact us at medwaypcf@googlemail.com
Are you involved in advising or planning for an EHCP?
If you are a professional who is involved in the EHCP process Medway Council and CCG have set up the following multi-agency training sessions:
Tuesday, 24 September 2019 @ 10am-12.30pm
Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Chatham, Room 2
Tuesday, 17 December 2019 @ 10am-12.30pm
Medway CCG Offices, 50 Pembroke Court Chatham, Copperfield Room
Tuesday, 10 March 2020 @ 10am-12.30pm
Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Chatham, Civic Suite
Tuesday, 7 July 2020 @ 10am-12.30pm
Medway CCG Offices, 50 Pembroke Court Chatham, Copperfield Room
To book your place email: mscbtraining@medway.gov.uk
Child Health & Educational Professionals - Consultation Line
Medway Young People’s Wellbeing Service (YPWS) is offering a dedicated consultation line to professionals who are working with children and young people in Medway.
Call: 07976 742812
- On the Ist and 3rd Monday in each month
- Between 2pm and 4pm
- To speak to Medway mental health clinicians
Call this number if you:
- Have concerns about a child or young person’s mental health and want some non-urgent advice
- Are unsure whether to make a referral to us
- Would like a non-urgent consultation or advice on where to seek help
- Would like to discuss other services or self-help materials to support a child or young person you are concerned about.
Please note this is NOT a Single Point of Access (SPA) or Referral Line if you need to make a referral or seek urgent advice contact the SPA for Medway YPWS on: 0300 300 1981. Make sure you have consent to refer before contacting the SPA
Medway’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities inspection took place in December 2017, with inspectors from OfSTED and the CQC looking at the effectiveness of arrangements linked to SEND in the local area.
The inspectors will be undertaking a series of revisits to areas where a Written Statement of Action (WSoA) was required, such as Medway. The revisit is expected to take place before Christmas. We will receive 10 days notification of the revisit, which will last between 2-4 days.
The revisits are not a re-inspection of SEN provision. Instead, they are designed to assess the progress which local areas have made against each of the actions in their WSoA.
Prior to the revisit inspectors will prepare some questions for parents. These questions will be shared in advance with the Medway Parent Carer Forum to ensure that they are appropriately phrased. These questions will then be asked via an online survey which will go live before the visits.
As a part of the process, inspectors will also meet with the parents on the first day of the revisit. The themes of the meeting will be linked to WSoA, and proposed questions will be shared with the Medway Parent Carer Forum when the session is planned.
We are hoping that parents and carers in Medway will participate in the inspection.
Following the revisit, a report will be published on the Ofsted and CQC websites. This will usually be 33 days after the inspectors have finished the revisit. It will set out whether we have made sufficient progress against each area of the Written statement of Action in Medway.
Referral form
Schools provided feedback to Medway Council and MCH colleagues that they found the electronic referral form problematic. As a result, MCH have redesigned the referral form as a word document. This means that schools can save the information and parents can complete the referral process at their own pace without concern about technical issues. The referral form with the completed parent information should be returned to medhch.childrenscommunity@nhs.net
Website
MCH have redesigned the children’s web pages to give more information to users. The new pages can be viewed at: medwaycommunityhealthcare.nhs.uk
Medical Terminology
Schools have expressed some concerns regarding talking to families about ADHD or ASD before children have been seen by a clinician as part of the diagnostic pathway. As a result, MCH have renamed the ADHD pathway to “Difficulties Sitting Still and Concentrating” and the ASD pathway as the “Social Communication” Pathway. It is hoped that this will help schools have conversations with families about the child’s ability to learn, rather than discussing possible medical conditions that may worry families unnecessarily.
Protecting Patient Confidentiality
Several schools have questioned why MCH staff cannot discuss children’s health details with them when they ring in for information. MCH has endeavoured to take great care to protect patient confidentiality. It is recognised that, as a referrer, schools do need to know some details and are a spokesperson for the family in some cases. MCH have instructed call takers to pass information on to referrers regarding waiting list status, questionnaires and possible appointment times.
MCH have also agreed that if parents provide consent at their appointment they will send reports directly to the named referrer at the child’s school. It is important to ensure that the referrers name is clearly on the referral form. MCH cannot send a report or other confidential information to a general school email address, so please include the email address of the person designated at the school to receive medical information.
MCH contact details: Children’s services: 0300 123 3444 or email: medch.childrenscommunity@nhs.net
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Are you involved with an organisation or service that supports children and young people with SEND and their parents or carers? If the answer is yes then we would like to hear from you.
Our Local Offer website provides information and services for people in Medway associated with SEND.
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We are constantly developing and expanding our directory of services, activities and support groups. If you would like to be part of the Local Offer please email localoffer@medway.gov.uk.
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