To ask the Minister of Health why the Southern Health and Social Care Trust recorded 46 per cent of one year health reviews as no contact for 2023-24.

Over recent years the Health Visiting Service in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust (SHSCT) area has experienced significant workforce challenges, with a large number of unfilled vacancies. As noted in the published statistics for 2023-24, this situation impacted on the Trust’s ability to fully deliver 1-year reviews as recommended in the Healthy Child Healthy Future policy.

The Trust has worked to increase recruitment to its complement of health visitors in order to allow it to deliver the services required to be provided as part of the framework. Consequently, the Trust has been able to resume full provision of all the framework contact interventions.

Throughout this period, the Trust has taken action to assess, manage and mitigate the risks involved. It has also reviewed its Health Visiting caseload and provided assurance that, in any case where the 1-year review was not carried out, an appropriate in-person review has now taken place.