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Health visiting: Listening to parents, transforming services

NHS England is working with the Department of Health to showcase some of our health visiting development work and the difference improved services are making to new parents and children.

Health visitors play a crucial role in ensuring children have the best possible start in life and provide a vital link between individual and community services, and between primary care and early years of a child’s life.

In March NHS England will continue to champion the work of health visitors, focusing on improvements in population coverage and health outcomes.

We are posting a series of blogs that highlight the vital work being carried out by health visitors around the country:

2 comments

  1. Li says:

    I agree with Chris. I am health visitor and what I see is very different to what has been promised and delivered in improving the service. Many have spoken about larger numbers of health visitors,however before those numbers were even reached, health visitors were bombarded with new responsibilities and duties to take on. It should be realised that numbers must be reached and once they are reached there should be at least one or two years for letting the last newly qualified HV’s to gain the necessary experience in order to work effectively.
    At present those who want to do the job will stay after working hours, doing over time but having no extra pay. If to count health visitors real pay it is much less, taking into consideration all that overtime.
    I have seen HVs going back to the wards just because they were unable to cope with the workload and ending up with less money because of no overtime or bank shifts.
    There must be better stability in health visiting or there will be no consistency as people will be leaving or changing work locations.

  2. Chris says:

    If you really value the work Health visitors do you will invest more in the service. My partner works for the service and is rushed off her feet. She has to work over her hours each week to keep up with the workload. She tells me that she can only do the basics and always feels that she doesn’t have the time to carry out the interventions that they family really needs.

    Why don’t you have a pool of health visitors that you can call on when there is sickness in a team?

    You’re right that the role of Health visitors is absolutely crucial. If you want to support vulnerable young families you need to invest more in this service.