Our Slough health visitors are “part of the family”
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Solutions4Health and our Public Health Nursing 4 Slough service ‘Good Overall’ following a full inspection of public health nursing services for young people aged 0-19, or up to age 25 for those with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) to people in Slough. The CQC praised the creation of a positive working environment and there was a strong and supportive culture within the team. It was also noted that the service provided an outstanding service to their local community, planning care effectively and responsively to meet the needs of local people. Staff had an excellent understanding of local demographics and strived to ensure that people’s needs were met.
Debbie Rowe, Public Health Programme Director, at Solutions4Health said:
“I am delighted that the CQC has highlighted so many areas of excellent practice and that we have achieved our overall ‘Good’ rating. Our service treats parents, young people and children with compassion and kindness. The CQC received consistently positive feedback from the parents they spoke with during their inspection.
Thank you to all our staff who have continued their hard work, while adapting to the significant challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The service has responded rapidly to the demands of the pandemic, for example recognising that new mums would likely be feeling isolated and introduced extra contacts at four and 10 weeks post-partum. Our Senior Management team also set up a panel where staff could request approval to see people face to face if they felt there was a compelling need to do so, ensuring that staff and families were kept safe.
We are also proud that the report highlighted our programme of apps for people to use at various points throughout their care. This includes an app for parents to use for advice on things such as sleep, weaning and potty training, an interactive app with games aimed at five to 11 year olds to promote healthy choices, and an app for 11 to 17 year olds to support healthy and positive lifestyles.
We are always striving to improve the quality of care we provide for people who use our services in our community. I am so pleased this report reflects the compassion, hard work and commitment of our staff and that we have had positive feedback from people who use our services, and their carers. “The service was inclusive and took account of children, young people and their families’ individual needs and preferences. Staff made reasonable adjustments to help children, young people and their families access services. They coordinated care with other services and providers.”
Feedback from people who use our services:
All of the 12 parents we spoke with gave positive feedback about the service and the support they were given.
- Children, young people and their families could give feedback on the service and their treatment and staff supported them to do this. We saw that feedback was discussed in team meetings
- Patients said that they could access advice in a timely way and were very grateful for the support and reassurance they had received.
- Stakeholders and key partners the CQC spoke with gave positive feedback about the staff and the service. They particularly praised the work they do with vulnerable families.
Full reports for the inspection, when complete, will be published on the CQC website.
