New Right Start and School Nursing Service ready to support Oldham residents

31 March 2022

A new partnership between Oldham Council and the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) is now available to bring high quality services for 0–19-year-olds across the borough. 

This partnership arrangement has been put together to offer greater flexibility in offering support to families and children in Oldham. It means that some services have been brought back into our local health and care system to make them more effective and deliver with our local NHS provider and local workforce. 

The services that are now jointly run by these two organisations cover services for families, parents and parents to-be and children 0-19 such as: 

  • The Health Visiting Service who support new parents and children with home visits 
  • Children’s Centre’s 
    • Early learning development teams 
    • Early years SEND support, who help children and families with special educational needs get the right support 
    • The Family Nurse Partnership  
    • The School Nursing Service  
    • Oral Health Improvement teams for 0–5-year-olds  

It’s important to know that the current arrangements for how these services are delivered will continue. This means if you use any of these services you will be able to continue to access them as usual.

The partnership agreement means the services will be delivered in a joined up way between the Council and the NCA to ensure that young people get the best support we can offer.  

Gerard Jones, Managing Director of Children and Young People at Oldham Council said:

“The changes to how we run these services mean a more joined-up approach to deliver an integrated care system in Oldham. This firmly puts children and young people are at the heart of everything we do. Giving young people the best start in life possible is our absolute priority so I’m glad we can work closely together with the Northern Care Alliance to help achieve this.”

The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) employs over 20,000 staff and in addition to running The Royal Oldham Hospital provides a range of hospital and community healthcare services across Oldham, Bury, Rochdale and Salford.

David Jago, Chief Officer for Oldham Care Organisation, part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We’re delighted to welcome colleagues from the Oldham 0-19 children service who are transferring into our organisation. These teams do a fantastic role in supporting and caring for children, young people and families across a range of local services, most of which are provided out in the community such as in children’s centres and in people’s homes.

“We are genuinely excited about this opportunity to further integrate these services and by having our maternity services, paediatrics and children’s community health alongside the 0–19 service teams. Our teams are looking forward to working in partnership with our Oldham Council colleagues to develop best in class services that meet the needs of families and provides best outcomes for children across the borough.”

The new partnership began on 1 April 2022 so look out for the new Right start and School Nursing Service in your area. 

Team photo.jpg

Photo courtesy of Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

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