Health Visiting, School Nursing and Public Health Integration

Reducing health inequalities for the next generation

The Health Visiting and School Nursing service form the 0-19 Public Health Nursing service within the London Borough of Sutton and are supported under Sutton Health & Care. The teams work closely together to deliver the Healthy Child Programme to families in Sutton. We also work together with the Public Health team to support and develop initiatives within the local and national public health agenda. 

As a service, we aim to form strong relationships with the children, parents and carers to provide advice and support aimed at achieving the best outcome for the health of the children within schools in Sutton.   

Some of the roles within the Public Health service include:

The Health Visiting Team

They have specialist posts for perinatal mental health, infant feeding, weight management, supporting families in temporary accommodation, and community outreach.

Health Visitors

These are specialist qualified professionals dedicated to supporting the reduction of health inequalities for children, young people and their families in Sutton, through the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme.

School Nursing Team

They work as a multi-skilled team of specialist practitioners, school staff nurses, and nursery nurses covering all the schools in Sutton: 15 secondary schools, 43 primary schools, and three Pupil referral units. The team supports the work of the Health Visitors in promoting good health, and prevention of illness in the school aged population.  Our aim is to ensure that appropriate measures are in place that support the children in attending school and meet their educational needs. 

School Nurses

These are specialist community public health nurses who work with school-aged children, young people and their families to improve health and wellbeing outcomes and reduce inequalities and vulnerabilities.

Practice Educators

Practice educators within the Health Visiting and School Nursing Service at Sutton, are responsible for promoting high standards of care through the demonstration of clinical expertise. Practice Educators lead on promoting a clinical environment that encourages learning and professional and practice development in partnership with senior clinical staff. 

The Safeguarding Team

The 0-19 Safeguarding Team, led by the Named Nurse Safeguarding Children, supports all activities necessary to ensuring that the organisation meets its statutory responsibilities to safeguard and protect children and young people. They provide specialist information, advice, supervision, training and support in respect of safeguarding matters to staff at all levels within the organisation. They contribute to the ongoing development of strategy in response to the children and young people using Sutton Health & Care services, and changing local and national directives. The team works collaboratively within the organisation and across agencies to form partnerships and working relationships that promote safeguarding. This includes working in partnership at the Sutton Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub - Children's First Contact Service

We are proud to offer and support staff with high-quality training that prepares you for a rewarding career, investing heavily in our workforce's development to ensure our staff have the skills and knowledge to address public health issues effectively.   We encourage applications from aspiring School Nurses that may not have all the relevant qualifications but are willing to undertake the additional study in School Nursing. All newly qualified Health Visitors and School Nurses are offered a 6 months preceptorship period where you will have an allocated senior health visitor to support you and ensure you are fully inducted into the team and service.

Public Health Team

Some of the Public Health Team with Mayor Councillor Colin Stears, Councillor James and Dr Imran Choudhury, Strategic Director of Public Health and Wellbeing

The Public Health team in Sutton is a busy and dynamic team. We are forward-looking with ambitions to significantly improve the health and wellbeing of our borough’s population and reduce health inequalities. Good health matters to individuals and society but we don’t all have the same opportunities to live healthy lives. We believe that everyone deserves equal opportunities for good health. Health inequalities arise because of the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These conditions influence people’s opportunities for good health and shape their mental health, physical health and wellbeing. Evidence shows that people living in our most deprived areas face the worst health inequalities in relation to health access, experiences and outcomes. 

Our team is structured into the following main areas:

Prevention

The public health team develops and delivers a range of prevention projects based on the needs identified in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA). These can include borough wide initiatives such as promoting physical activity, localised initiatives like School Superzones in areas of higher deprivation or supporting individuals with long-term conditions through partnerships with GPs. The team also responds to emerging issues such as protecting young people from the risks of vaping in collaboration with schools and the Substance Misuse Partnership.

Data and Insights

  • Generating comprehensive health data reports, providing data support, and developing dashboards for public health initiatives and service oversight.
  • Developing key documents including the annual Public Health report, the Sutton Strategic Needs Assessment and the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment.
  • Co-ordinating the Sutton Suicide Prevention partnership including developing the strategy and annual action plan.

Health Protection

  • The team has a role in health protection issues and is part of the Sutton Immunisation Group. During the pandemic, public health was at the centre of Sutton's COVID-19 response.

Programme Management

  • Overseeing the timely, efficient, and cost-effective delivery of our health programmes.

Join Our Team

Join us in our mission at Sutton's Public Health Service, where we are not just offering a career, but an opportunity to make a significant impact on community health and contribute to a healthier future for all.

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