HV and midwifery services access now available through a charity - aibu to be uneasy?

[JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff]

I cannot put my finger on exactly why this is bugging me. Would anyone else feel the same, or does it not matter?

I just got the quarterly email newsletter through from my local children's centre, and I notice it is now XX Children's Centre, On Behalf of YY city council, provided by ZZ Charity.

The services include- MW appts, HV weighing and development checks, as well as a bf group and multiple mums that both used to operate a few years back as independent peer support groups. Obviously the HV and MW still work for NHS, but the way to contact them or book a slot is now seemingly through this charity which appears to have a contract to run all local children's centres for our area.

I am pretty sleep deprived but it seems a bit off to me that you have to go through a charity to get an NHS medical appt. Am I overthinking?! Not going to say/ do anything, just musing.....

Also, recently I used the HV weigh in clinic to weigh my twins. I was going back off mat leave so ensured HV had my mobile as I wouldn't be just popping by to clinic anymore. Subsequently, a volunteer for ZZ charity has rung up a couple of times advertising other services or groups they offer. On the one hand they are being helpful and I was nice back. But on the other I am uncomfy with my personal details being shared with a 3rd party organisation to cross promote their services.

That would now be a breach of gdpr I think.

HV's are funded by the local authority. The service has been cut so much that some nhs trust are no longer bidding to commission them as they are seen as unsafe due to staffing therefore the local authority is bring HV's in house.

Sad times.

I think that's fairly normal. It used to be like that in my town until the children's centre closed. Now the midwife is back in the Dr surgery and the HV 's run their clinics in the church hall. The HV and midwife were always working for the nhs though, just using the children's centre as a venue. I liked it, there were more toys for my toddlers to play with than in the Drs surgery and waiting to see the hv/midwife became a social thing.

This is the Tory government.
The service must have came up for tender and the comissioners have chosen to run it this way.
It’s going on in various different health services up and down the country.
It’s part of quietly privatising the nhs.
I have the same issues as you regarding it.
There’s nothing really that can be done, Won’t change until the tories go out.

Part of quietly privatising the NHS perhaps, certainly of forcing more of what used to be paid work (the venue staff) into the voluntary sector. That has indeed been going on for a long time, since before 2010. I can't see how this is a benefit to the economy and I don't understand why politicians can't see that.

@hazeyjane and @lololove Virgincare are the devil's itchy haemorrhoids. They have lost multiple contracts over the last couple of years so hopefully they'll crawl back under a damp rock soon.

I know, Virgincare have been in charge of Children's Services here for the last 3 years

So that is ds's community paediatrician, physio, Occupational therapist, speech therapist, continence nurse and the school nurse....all under Virgincare.

It has been a fucking shit show, ds lost therapists he had had from when he was a baby - OT discharged him (despite NHS services saying he needs these services) I don't even know who his physio is anymore (despite his having daily physio at school and his orthotic supports not fitting for nearly a year), we are on our 3rd Speech therapist, he is supposed to have a community paediatrician but they have never contacted us.

Trying to phone is a nightmare and when they have to coordinate with NHS services it is a mess.

As someone who also works with children with complex needs I also see children waiting longer for appointments, referrals taking an age, children not meeting the criteria for assessment or equipment despite an obvious need and children being discharged despite still needing support.

It is a fucking disgrace that we are paying these people to run the NHS into the ground, and I fear what will happen when the contract comes back up in 2 years time.

I am not sure a part time volunteer for a charity signing a confidentiality agreement is the same
Are these people volunteers though, it's more likely that they are paid workers that are paid for by the charity with the same IG restrictions and the risk of losing their job as a NHS worker.
It is very likely that they are the original CC staff who were transferred across to the charity when the charity took over the service. I think your information in this instance is likely to be as safe as in the NHS.
I don't like the stealth privatisation of NHS services either, competition doesn't lead to better care and the commissioning process is actually a false economy due to the volume of staff you need to manage what money goes where when the CCGs come to pay for the service.
As a hospital we employ a team of at least 10 people on band 6 (nurses are band 5) and above just to manage this process of sorting out who to bill for the work we've done that month. That's 100s of people across England whose job it is to work out where to push the money too because of commissioning rules when it would be easier just to work on block contracts.

Also, recently I used the HV weigh in clinic to weigh my twins. I was going back off mat leave so ensured HV had my mobile as I wouldn't be just popping by to clinic anymore. Subsequently, a volunteer for ZZ charity has rung up a couple of times advertising other services or groups they offer. On the one hand they are being helpful and I was nice back. But on the other I am uncomfy with my personal details being shared with a 3rd party organisation to cross promote their services.
Definitely a GDPR breach!