The team is working hard to ensure that Healthy Start is embedded across Durham County Council, and that the issues relating to poverty are clear. This work is supported by the multi-agency child poverty working group. There is a robust governance structure for this group which includes a Healthy Start steering group. Here, they drill down into the data and ensure that Healthy Start is embedded in all agendas, such as the healthy weight and oral health strategies.
Michelle Baldwin said:
We don’t look at the Healthy Start scheme uptake in isolation, we look at the wider needs of the family and try to support them in every way possible. Healthy Start is threaded throughout, not a stand-alone piece of work. We make it everybody’s business.”
This ‘whole system’ approach ensures that all service providers have a responsibility for directing families to support. This starts with maternity services and health visiting, to ensure that meaningful conversations with families take place from the earliest opportunity.
County Durham has extra locally mandated health visitor contacts. This provides additional opportunities to have conversations about general wellbeing and healthy eating at each visit. The Healthy Start scheme is included in these discussions where appropriate, along with help to apply (if needed) and a broader wellbeing review – with families linked into financial advice if required.
The council has produced a local Healthy Start leaflet, distributed through its Family Hubs, recognising that some vulnerable families don’t have access to information online. The leaflet was co-produced with families and includes local contact details for advice and support.
Amanda Healey, Director of Public Health for County Durham, said: “We make sure that the Healthy Start message runs across our news and publications, but it’s specifically targeted in those areas where there is likely to be a higher level of need. We also make sure families know what to do with that money – the health visitors have produced meal plans on how people can use the scheme, for example.”
The team is working with the council’s performance and intelligence team to increase their understanding of the data and intelligence. This will lead to more targeted work within specific communities. Using local intelligence and data helps to reveal what the local challenges are.
Unfortunately, there is still some stigma for some families around asking for support, and County Durham is working to overcome those barriers through the whole-community approach and co-production. At the same time, there are many working families struggling with financial pressures who are not eligible for Healthy Start, so the team is keen to work with those families too.