Croydon Council's Scrutiny Children & Young People Sub-Committee met on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, to review updates on public health nursing, with a particular focus on the Public Health Nursing Transformation programme.
Public Health Nursing Transformation
The Sub-Committee received an update on the Public Health Nursing service, highlighting improvements in performance and the strategic aims of the transformation programme. The programme is designed to reduce health inequalities, improve workforce efficiency and resilience, and provide a more integrated service across localities, aligning with family hubs. This is achieved through a structured service offer comprising Universal, Targeted, Specialist, and Enhanced levels to meet individual needs.
Loretta McGurray, Deputy Director of Nursing, and Juliet Penny, Head of Public Health Nursing, presented the findings. They emphasised increased reliability and more meaningful support being offered to children and families. Beyond completion rates for New Birth Visits and 2-2.5-year reviews, the programme's success is also measured by improvements in response times, which have significantly impacted the service.
Performance Metrics and Mandated Timeframes
Performance in New Birth Visits has consistently exceeded 90% completion within the mandated timeframe. The mandated timeframes, set by NHS England, are 95% for New Birth Visits and 80% for the 2-2.5-year review. Previously, lower targets were agreed due to performance issues, but from April 1, 2026, the service will align with national targets. The report pack, available at Public reports pack 10th-Mar-2026 18.30 Scrutiny Children Young People Sub-Committee, details these performance metrics.
Addressing Challenges and Workforce Efficiency
Challenges encountered during the transformation included administrator vacancies and errors in the electronic record system for the 2-2.5-year reviews, which impacted performance between November 2024 and September 2025. These were addressed through recruitment and process improvements. For New Birth Visits, exceptions outside the mandated timeframe were managed by accounting for each visit and ensuring follow-up where possible. The report also noted that the previous Family Nurse Partnership model was too rigid, preventing support for vulnerable women with concealed pregnancies; the new model allows engagement if the mother intends to keep her baby.
Workforce efficiency is being enhanced through a recruitment and retention strategy. The vacancy rate in the 0-19 public health nursing workforce decreased from 27.2% in December 2024 to 16.9% in December 2025. Interventions include a band 5 development programme, career pathway development, securing training places for health visitors and school nurses, partnership with the ICB for recruitment fairs, and the creation of new specialist, quality, and leadership posts. This has led to increased response times and reliability, ensuring more children and young people receive timely and meaningful support.
Strategic Alignment and Future Plans
Strategies to reduce health inequalities involve a strong focus on underserved communities and collaborative working with Family Hubs and local services. The Public Health Nursing service update can be found in the CYP Scrutiny Sub-Committee - Update on the Public Health Nursing Service 10 3 26 document.
