The integration of health and social care provides a fantastic chance to improve services for children and ensure that they all get the best possible start in life. We know ensuring children are healthy in the first few years can make all the difference to their general wellbe-ing and long-term health. We also know health plays a key role in their ability to do well at school, which of course opens up all sorts of life benefits and will ultimately help the country cut its health and welfare costs. From 2015 councils will be responsible for commissioning a variety of children's services for 0-5-year-olds including health visitors and family nurses. Despite some misinformation and even scaremongering this doesn't mean that health visitors are suddenly going to become local government employees. In fact most health visitors will remain NHS employees and terms of employment will not change as a result.
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