Dudley children's centres to host health services
Extra services will be moved into children's centres across Dudley, as part of a shake-up in the borough.
The changes are coming about because the responsibility for commissioning public health services for children from today has transferred from NHS England to local authorities.
A report to the Dudley Council's People's Service committee sets out what options are available to improve the integration of services.
Among the proposals is locating midwifery services, health visitors and family support workers in children's centres.
A weekly multi-agency safeguarding group is also proposed to discuss new ways to improve early intervention and ensure referrals into children's social care services are appropriate.
Moving the registration of new births to children centres will also be explored to increase the numbers of vulnerable families accessing other available services.
The committee report states the advantage of the council taking over responsibilities is that it has the potential to provide a more joined-up, cost effective service built around individual needs.
Deborah Harkins, chief officer for health and well-being at Dudley Council, said: "The benefit of bringing these services together is to provide an integrated service with a single point of access for children and families. There is a slight variance in roles between different providers in supporting children and families, so this transfer will enable them to work more closely together around families' needs. Pilot sites are still to be decided.
"The new weekly safeguarding group will allow our frontline professionals an opportunity to share intelligence around safeguarding issues on a locality basis, and fulfil their duty to contribute as part of a multi-agency approach.
"Birth registration at a locality level enables new parents to be known to the locality team, who can introduce them to local centres and services they can access. This development is in the very early stages of consideration. We will consult local communities if it is felt there is merit in these proposals before taking any final decision on how this provision will be shaped."
Dudley Council was told to make improvements within three to six months of an 'adequate' inspection of its children's services by Ofsted in 2012.
The authority has also been criticised for spending £800 a day on employing an interim chief officer for children's services. The council has twice tried unsuccessfully to fill the post.
