Health Visiting and School Nursing Services

Overall Summary

• The service had enough staff to care for children, young people and families to keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect children, young people and their families from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risk well. Staff assessed risks to children, young people and families, acted on them and kept good care records. Where they gave medicines, these were managed well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them. Staff collected safety information and used it to improve the service.
• Staff provided good care and treatment to children, young people and families in a holistic and pragmatic way. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of children, young people and their families, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information.
• Staff treated children, young people and their families with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided social, emotional and practical support to children and young people, and families.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of people’s individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service in a flexible way.
• Leaders ran the service well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s vision and values, and how to apply them in their work. Staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of children, young people and families. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities. The service engaged well with children, young people and the community to plan and manage services and all staff were committed to improving services continually.

However;

• The service had several practice guidance documents that required review. Managers had identified this, and plans were in place to ensure they were reviewed and updated where necessary.