HCRG Care Group picked to continue Bath and North East Somerset child and family services until 2031
HCRG Care Group, which runs universal child and family services for families across Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), has secured a new contract to continue delivering the services from April 2025.
HCRG Care Group specialises in community-based services, investing up-front in transforming services to focus on prevention and increasing productivity. The organisation has contracts to deliver similar services in five localities across England and, from April next year, will employ more than 3,000 health and care staff across the South West.
Under the new contract, HCRG Care Group will work collaboratively with B&NES Council including public health, early years, social care and education teams, and with local health and care, voluntary and faith-based organisations, to ensure families receive a comprehensive and joined-up service. The contract could run until 2031, following an initial four-year term.
The service will align with the council’s Think Family approach and deliver the Government’s Healthy Child Programme. It will also deliver on the B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board vision of a service which supports wider Public Health priorities.
HCRG Care Group’s existing service in B&NES holds ‘good’ ratings from the CQC, with the winning proposal for the future including plans to further enhance it by:
- Introducing a new Child and Family Wellbeing app with on-demand advice, a single point of access for direct contact, community drop-in hubs, home visits, school-based programmes and health promotion.
- Empowering children, young people and families to take an active role in their health and wellbeing. Routine reviews will be complemented by extensive self-help resources, strong partnerships with schools, nurseries, family hubs and other organisations working with families to ensure an accessible service for all
- Delivering through multi-disciplinary teams which bring together the skills of Public Health Nurses, Early Help Practitioners and others to provide a cohesive, joined-up service.
- Provide a named health visitors for families with children up to the age of 4, and named school nurse for each secondary school.
As the system leader for community across B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire from next April, HCRG Care Group will also facilitate collaboration across early help services, health and care providers, and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations working with families locally.
Commenting on the new contract, Sarah Wardle, Chief Nursing Officer at HCRG Care Group, said: “We are thrilled our plans for further enhancing the service across B&NES have been accepted, and to continue to support families and young people across B&NES with a more accessible, joined-up service which encourages everyone to manage their own health and act now to be healthier in the future.”
This new contract highlights HCRG Care Group’s ongoing success in delivering services for children, young people and families and further solidifies its position as a leading provider of integrated community-based health and care services.
All staff working in the service are already employed by HCRG Care Group with more than three-quarters saying they would recommend the company as an employer. All of HCRG Care Group’s team benefit from award-winning engagement and support programmes and training as well as the Pre-Birth to 19 Best Practice Network.
