Healthcare
Service commissioning
The NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) is responsible for planning and buying healthcare services in the area. This is for all patients registered with its member GP practices and those who are not registered but are resident within Medway. This is known as ‘commissioning’.
They commission services including planned hospital care, urgent and emergency care, rehabilitation care, mental health and learning disability services and care in the community.
Services for everyone
Most health services are available to everyone and you do not need an assessment or referral to use them.
Many children and young people with SEND will have their needs met by services such as:
- GPs
- dentists
- opticians
- urgent care and walk-in centres
- health visitors
- school nurses.
Find your local health services.
If you are worried about your child's development there is lots of information available about different types of SEND.
Continuing healthcare
Where a child or young person has SEND, the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and local authorities may co-ordinate an assessment. They may then agree a package of continuing care to develop the child or young person’s EHCP.
A continuing care package may be required when a child or young person has additional needs as a result of:
- a disability
- an accident
- an illness that cannot be met by existing universal or specialist services alone.
When a young person approaches 18, Medway’s 0 to 25 Disability Team or a healthcare professional will revisit a checklist to see if continuing care funding is still needed at this stage. This assessment is done in consultation with the young person and their family or carer.
If it is, the young person will move over to the adult continuing health care service which will be reviewed annually.
Annual health checks
An annual health check can improve a young person's health by spotting problems earlier.
Anyone over the age of 14 with a learning disability, is entitled to have an annual health check.
Find out more about annual health checks.