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Objectives The NHS has prioritised integrated care1 as a possible solution to improving the delivery of child health.2 The Sparkbrook Children's Zone (SCZ) pilots integration of place-based child health services and social support3 in the most deprived ward in Birmingham, UK.4 We describe the number of attendances at the clinic, health promotion, referrals to secondary care and CYP referred to the Early Help team for social support. Methods SCZ, a weekly afternoon clinic for CYP Results A total of 90 integrated clinics, 75 on a Thursday, 15 additional pilot clinics on alternate Mondays (5 slots Between April 2022 and July 2023) were delivered, with 886 patients booked into available slots (91%), of which 16% did not attend (DNA, see table 1). We estimate preliminary savings for secondary care referrals avoided at £83,000 during this period. Family feedback has been largely positive and DNAs were reduced to 11% in the last quarter (to end September 2023) through opening a satellite clinic closer to families in another part of the PCN's geographical footprint. A third of CYP were referred to our Early Help service with the three main issues: CYP with autism and behaviour/sleep issues (neurodiversity), mental health and housing (see figure 1). Data for the first 154 CYP referred to Early Help showed 40% required a Family Connect form for multi- agency support but no CYP were escalated to social services. Conclusion SCZ demonstrates a scalable and potentially cost-effective model to integrate delivery of child health and early years interventions to address social determinants of health. References NHS. The NHS Long Term Plan, 2019, (accessed 5th September 2023): https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/nhs-long-term-plan-version-1.2.pdf Wolfe I, Lemer C, Cass H. Integrated care: a solution for improving children's health? Arch Dis Child 2016 Nov;101(11):992–997. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2013-304442. Dutton F, Wolhuter C, Kaur S, et al. 1066 A proposed pilot to integrate health and social care to tackle child inequality: the Sparkbrook Children's Zone, Birmingham. Archives of Disease in Childhood 2022;107:A56. Birmingham City Council. Ward profile: Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath East. 19th May 2023.
Bird et al. (Tue,) studied this question.