Speeches by Beales.

“Sally, I suppose that, as an OT, you are not always considered in the MDT and a lot of the guidance. In terms of your access to data at the moment, what do you think about an NHS number being the basis for the single identifier going forward?”

“What kind of challenges does Contact face at the moment in terms of the data issue? Do you have any considerations about where you sit in the system with the use of the NHS number and how the system might relate to you?”

“Taking advantage of the Chair’s good will, I have a follow-up question. You mentioned the 10-year plan. We know that a shift to neighbourhood health will be a key component of that. Many of you have talked about the importance of community-based and multidisciplinary working. Do you have a view about where that should …”

“So the important thing is that an MDT is representative of all allied professions. It is not necessarily the location but the mix of skills that is the most important thing.”

“Do you want to add anything, Doug, before I move on?”

“I was taking a liberty there with a follow-up question, so I will move on to data. Beccy talked about a macro-level analysis of data. Focusing back down on the child, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is piloting a single unique identifier for children. In the evidence we have heard so far, we have heard that o…”

“Dr Simkiss, the RCPCH suggested the NHS number being the unique identifier in evidence, so presumably you are happy with the emerging approach that has been mentioned.”

“Something has to be picked, and there will be challenges with whatever is picked. Some children may not have an NHS number at present.”

“It has been suggested to us that asylum seekers might be part of the group that is not covered by NHS numbers.”

“So you do not envisage that there will be a group of children who would struggle?”

“Fantastic. Sally, you briefly touched on some of the logistical and practical challenges for professionals. Are there any other resources or tools that the workforce will need to successfully implement this new approach?”

“Great. Thank you.”

“I will start quite generally about the challenge. Despite attempts to increase vaccination rates, rates have broadly and consistently fallen in terms of coverage since 2012, and the WHO target of 95% coverage was not met in 2023-24, before the target was abandoned in planning guidance for NHS England. What is your asse…”

“That is a really helpful summary. We have seen that trend since 2012. Is it your sense that all those barriers—in terms of access points such as convenience, time off work and so on, which are understandable barriers—have become more acute? What is your sense of why there has been a worsening of availability of appoint…”

“There are quite wide regional variations: 22 local authorities meet the 95% target, but 44 are below 90% and 12 are below 85%. Hackney is as low as 60-something per cent—approximately 63%—which is an almost 30% difference between the lowest and highest coverage in local authorities. What is your feeling about why that …”

“The point has been mentioned that many families receive one letter. You also just mentioned population mobility and losing contact. What is your sense of where the system is working well in tracking those who have missed appointments? Are there places where that has been solved—perhaps through a more complex system of …”

“In terms of the impacts, there have been a number of outbreaks recorded: measles outbreaks in Birmingham and London, I think, and increasing cases of whooping cough and other things. Do you have any broader sense of what the implications might be for the health system? Are you aware of any kind of modelling on declinin…”

“Thank you so much; I completely agree. Finally, for a number of the interventions that you have suggested might be needed, the barriers could be the required resources. But are you aware of any analysis of extra admissions or bed days by NHS England, at the national or regional level, that might show that “business as …”

“On the role of health visitors, home visits have in many ways been shown to improve outcomes. You talked about the need to have discussions and trusted relationships. That would suggest that the role of health visitors could and should be an important one. The Government committed to pilot health visitors giving the va…”

“The pilots that you have said you support seem incredibly slow in their roll-out, from what we have heard. There are just a handful of pilots, before we move on to a significant scale roll-out. Have you got any view about the pace of those? Are we going far enough quickly enough?”