Agenda item

Public Health Performance Dashboard - Quarter 1 2024/25

Minutes:

  1. Victoria Tovey (Assistant Director for Integrated Commissioning) introduced the report which detailed performance against Key Performance Indicators within Public Health commissioned services. Four areas were performing above target whilst two were below the target. 

 

  1. Ms Tovey noted the fall in performance against PH14 “number of mothers receiving an antenatal contact by the health visiting service”. Members asked for further information:  
    1. The provider (KCHFT) had identified a data reporting error subsequent to their move to a new IT system. That error had inflated their previous performance, upon which the 24/25 targets had been set. The error had been resolved, but that led to a decline in performance against targets (i.e. less women had received face-to-face contact from their health visitor than originally recorded).  

 

  1. Every family known to the service had received a welcome letter from the Health Visiting service and there was a significant amount of universal support available. Vulnerable families and first-time mothers were prioritised for visits.  

 

  1. KCHFT were paid as a block contract, as opposed to outcomes based, and any underspends were discussed and either the money went back into the Public Health Grant for re-investment, or the funding was reallocated to other public health activities.  

 

  1. As to why the data error had not been discovered sooner, Ms Tovey explained a rolling 12-month target was used and the base line fluctuated in line with birth rates. It was therefore not immediately obvious when looking at the declining performance against target.  

 

  1. National staff shortages meant the service ran a risk-based approach, prioritising other activities in the service over the antenatal contacts (for example, safeguarding visits) as individuals were under the care of maternity services. However, there was an open offer in place for anyone requesting support, and services including Family Hubs and Midwifery also provided care.  

 

  1. Consideration was being given to centralising the antenatal offer within the service to reduce instances of antenatal visits being de-prioritised in locations with lower staff numbers.

  

3.    In response to questions around the lower number of people attending an NHS Health Check than being invited for one, it was said: 

a.    The Health Checks program was stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic and once it re-started progress varied across primary care providers. The 2024/25 target was increased to reflect the over-achievement of the 2023/24 target.  

 

b.    To increase attendance, various pilots were underway, including a campaign looking at the wording used in communications to different groups of people.

  

c.     An audit had been undertaken into the individuals that did not respond to invitations to understand the barriers. The outcomes were being used to inform future communications. Following a question around the number of people setting a quit date for smoking, Ms Tovey explained that the service was evidence based (NICE guidelines) but there were a number of other initiatives helping to improve effectiveness. There was an aspiration to use linked data (using NHS numbers to anonymously monitor whether an individual’s outcomes have improved since using a service).

 

4.    RESOLVED that the performance of Public Health commissioned services in Q1 2024/2025 be noted. 

 

Supporting documents: