Annette Rawstrone reports
The frustrations often faced by children with disabilities and their families when seeking specialist support should be a thing of the past in Southwark, south London, thanks to the arrival of a new centre.
The Southwark Child Development Centre, based in Camberwell, will bring health, education, social care and child and adolescent mental health services under one roof. Jessica Chappell, interim head for children with disabilities at Southwark Primary Care Trust, says, 'It will deliver a one-stop shop in a welcoming environment, rather than families having to go all over the borough to different venues.'
She explains that currently families have to visit different centres for different services and sometimes end up telling their story over and over again. 'With the development of the new centre, people will be working in a team around the child. There is a phased implementation for this, so some families are already working in this way.'
A sensitive approach to multi- agency work is a priority. Donna Kinnair, project director, children's commissioner and director of nursing at Southwark Primary Care Trust, says, 'A way of working called "Team Around the Child" has been introduced which ensures that parents and carers of children and young people are fully involved in all decisions about the help and support they receive - joined-up seamless support, no matter how many professionals, service teams and agencies are involved.
'A multi-agency panel, MATCh, has been set up to enable this to happen.
MATCh is a different way of working and seeks to develop capacity to match the complex needs of children and young people through the panel comprising managers across health, education, social care, the voluntary sector and families. The panel lies at the heart of the development and implementation of an integrated service pathway based on the Team Around the Child model.
It is also the driver for integrated commissioning and will prepare the ground for likely future pooling of budgets.'
Resource centre
Work to develop a cohesive strategy for specialist child health services in Southwark started towards the end of 2004, culminating in the building of the centre. It is due to be completed in autumn 2007. The 8.5m project, funded by Building Better Health: Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham Ltd, is for children and young people up to 19 years old. They include:
* children with special educational needs and learning disabilities
* children with speech and language needs
* children with specific health needs, for example hearing impairment, HIV, chronic illness or post-surgical care
* children at risk of significant harm (physical, sexual and emotional abuse)
* looked-after children.
Staff in local Sure Start centres, community clinics, mainstream and special schools will also be able to use the centre as a resource.
Among the benefits of the new child development centre are:
* a convenient, accessible location in a high-quality and family-friendly environment
* lots of services provided in one place
* the right mix of health, education, social care and CAMHS (mental health) professionals
* easy access to information
* improved communication between all services.
'The centre will help support the development of team working and ensure a consistency of messages to parents and carers,' says Ms Chappell. 'It will help break down barriers between existing services and there will be the opportunity for joint training and learning about each other's work.
'There will be more opportunity for joint outreach work and joint assessment. Rather than parents bringing their children backwards and forwards, they will be able to see the relevant professionals all in one go. Services are already working together in a multi-agency approach, but the new building will be the manifestation of this.'
Provision of services is not to be confined to the new centre. 'We want as much outreach work as possible,' Ms Chappell explains. 'Professionals from the centre will go into schools and early years settings and deliver their services where the children are. The only services at the child development centre will be those that cannot easily be delivered elsewhere, such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy and some social care services.'
It is also hoped that the new way of working will help to reduce the time children and young people spend waiting for treatment. Ms Chappell says, 'Staff will be more accountable. Children cannot just sit on waiting lists.
They need to receive some service delivery and get support. For example, if a child is diagnosed with autism and needs to access speech and language therapy, there is currently a long waiting list. But there are other professionals who will be able to give support in the meantime, such as health visitors who have been taught some of the skills.'
Bricks and mortar
Architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris LLP designed the new child development centre in consultation with local parents and carers. 'A parents and carers council was set up in May, led by a development worker, and they meet on a regular basis,' says Ms Chappell. 'The parents are the experts - for example, they know what can be done to make a building more accessible for their children.'
The centre's design is based on the following key principles, that it:
* provides an excellent environment for children, young people and their carers and families
* is resilient and fit for the future, flexible to change
* offers economic value
* is sustainable in terms of social, economic and environmental standards
* is accessible to all with the highest standards of disability access
* is welcoming and easy to find your way around.
The five-storey building will include planned desk space for approximately 176 staff. The entrance foyer, reception and play and family resource facilities will form the 'public heart' of the building. There are also plans for a garden which will provide a quiet space for anyone to relax when visiting the centre.
To help make the building feel welcoming, Guy's and St Thomas' Charity will commission a variety of artworks. These may include painting, sculpture and lighting to add interest to the building. It is hoped that the effects of art will make it a therapeutic environment and help to reduce stress and anxiety for children, their families and staff. Colour is also being used on the building's outside walls, while aiming to remain sensitive to its location next to a listed building.
Sensitivity is also an issue in the name. Consultation on what to actually call the child development centre will be starting soon. 'We are going to work with children and young people in the area to develop a name for the building. We want a centre where the children can go without feeling stigmatised - young people do not want to walk into a building called "child development". We want a name that is neutral,' explains Ms Chappell.
She adds, 'It is very exciting to be part of the birth of this centre.' NW
