Understanding Health Services - SEND Local Offer for Coventry

About

Services to keep you healthy and well

  • Pharmacists
  • School Nurses
  • Health Visitors
  • GPs
  • Specialist nurses for children who are looked after

Services who will see you quickly if you are very unwell or have had an accident

  • An accident and emergency department such as University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire
  • A walk in centre such as Coventry City Health Centre
  • An urgent appointment at your GP surgery

Services for children and young people with specific illnesses and conditions or a difficulty/concern.

You may be referred to a service by a professional such as your GP or health visitor or you may be able to refer yourself

  • Hospital Specialists
  • Community children’s doctor (paediatricians)
  • Speech and Language Therapists
  • Occupational Therapists
  • Physiotherapists
  • Dieticians
  • Mental Health Services
  • Learning Disability Services
  • Neuro-disability Services
  • Community Children’s Nurses

Working together for children with additional needs

Health professionals working with a child or young person share information to make sure they are working together. They should let you know how they do this.

Sometimes sharing information must be done – for example a Paediatrician or a physiotherapist will want to know the outcome of a hospital test such as an x-ray or scan so they can make sure they are doing the right thing for the child or young person. Sometimes this is routine; like when a learning disability specialist copies a letter to the GP so the GP has a full understanding of what is happening for that child or young person.

There are times when information has to be shared immediately, such as when there is a concern about a child or young person’s safety.

Working together for children and young people having an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment.

When an education, health and care needs assessment is requested for a child or young person, it is discussed with a group called a panel. The panel will talk about if they need any advice from health professionals. This information is used to help make a decision about if a child or young person needs an Education, Health and Care Plan and to make sure that the child or young person is known to the right specialists.

If a health service is asked to provide advice to support an education, health and care assessment they must provide the information within 6 weeks. They may do this be sending a letter or report from the last time they saw they child. They may do this by providing a triage phone call where they can find out if a child needs a specialist assessment and what advice will be helpful whilst they wait for this. They may do this by seeing the child and their family and then writing a report letter.

EHCP: Special Educational Need or Health Need?

If the child or young person has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), the advice and provision from a health professional may be classed as either a special educational need or a health need.

If it is described as a special educational need, this means that the child or young person needs the EHCP so that they can access the curriculum / learning opportunities.

If it is described as a health need, the child or young person keep the child/young person healthy and as well as possible. Some provision will be in both parts of a plan. For example a speech and language therapist may see a child in school to practice/develop specific speech skills. They may also see a child at home to talk about swallowing and safety around eating and drinking.

Specific health services