Increasing the ‘Healthy Start’ uptake to 90% by 2027

SSBC delivered a Healthy Start briefing to Nottingham partners in October 2022. Sessions were delivered and advertised in bulletins, newsletters and email forums to increase workforce awareness. 

The aim was to increase practitioner knowledge in the NHS Heathy Start Scheme, so they had the confidence to talk to families about the scheme and support families in the application process.

In October 2022, the NHS Healthy Start data identified that 80% of eligible families were in receipt of the scheme, however in March 2023 this figure has dropped significantly to 68%. It was felt that families were struggling to apply due to:

• Digital poverty
• Digital skills
• Complicated application routes dependent upon the benefits received
• Feeling overwhelmed 
• English as an additional language or no English at all
• No awareness of the scheme

To overcome these issues, SSBC wanted a new way of encouraging services to complete the short briefing, and to become a Healthy Start advocate. We wanted each partner to pledge a way they would embed a Healthy Start message within their business-as-usual activities. Their Healthy Start pledge is registered with the Nottingham Public Health team and reviewed each year.

Actions by our partners include:

• Windmill Practice include a Healthy Start message to text messages they send out to all pregnant ladies
• Rosehill School has added Healthy Start information to their school website
• Nottingham City Food Banks adds a Healthy Start flyer to all food parcels to families with children under 4 years
• The Family Mentor service has included a Healthy Start prompt in their service delivery pathway
• Nottingham CityCare Partnership’s Health Lifestyle Service has included a question about Healthy Start as part of their initial assessment. This means they can speak to eligible families who aren’t accessing Healthy Start and to encourage them to take up the offer. They will include promotion of Healthy Start at the ‘Milk to Meals’ group, including it in their presentation and fliers to parents.

Since March 2023, the number of eligible families claiming the Healthy Start scheme in Nottingham City has steadily increased.
Nottingham City NHS Healthy Start Data:

• March-April 2023    68%
• May - July 2023      69%
• August 2023           71%
• September 2023    73%
• October 2023         76%
• November 2023     78%
• December 2023     80%
• January 2024         83%

The January figures put Nottingham City in the top 4% for uptake in England.
Other work includes:

•    Working with retailers to promote they accept the Healthy Start card in store. 
•    Embedding the Healthy Start work within the Nottingham Eating and Moving for Good Health workstreams.