Centre managers have told Children Now that successful partnerships arefalling apart as health authorities and local authorities shy away frommainstreaming health staff as Sure Start money runs out.
Health staff at one children's centre have received letters "out of theblue" from the NHS telling them it was no longer willing to employ themas Sure Start workers and that they would have to rejoin the NHS byMarch 2007.
The centre manager said: "We're just coming up to our fifth birthday inDecember and all that we've done in drawing together people across arange of agencies will be wasted."
The news emerged at the second national conference for children'sservices held by the Children Now Fund last week.
Judith Mace, health co-ordinator at Bacup and Stacksteads Sure StartCentre in Lancashire, said cuts to NHS funding, combined with a lack ofagreement between the local authority and health trust, meant her centrestands to lose part of a midwife post, a child and adolescent mentalhealth worker, a speech and language therapist, an art therapist and herown post.
The news comes as chief executives of primary care trusts and localauthorities received a letter from the Government telling them healthcannot be left out of the Every Child Matters agenda and to overcomedifficulties in delivering joined-up resources.
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said the problem waswidespread.
She said the letter would help persuade health authorities tocontribute, adding: "Everyone knows it's about aligning budgets."
But Mace questioned whether the Government had grasped the full extentof the problem. "I don't think the Government is aware of what's goingon. The rhetoric is absolutely great but the reality doesn't matchup."
- See Analysis, p11.
