A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A HEALTH VISITOR. Jane Dingley (Health Visitor/Practice Teacher Oct 2013)

Organisation… -Teamwork: Head of Service. Professional Lead. Health Visitor/s Community Paediatric Nurse. Nursery Nurse (Community Health Assistant Practitioner) Community Support worker. Administration. -GP Linked.

The Health Visiting Service… Health Visitors are trained nurses with further specialist training in family and community health, including, child health, health promotion, education, and social and emotional developmental skills.

The New Health Visiting Service consists of four tiers of healthcare and prevention. Health Visitor Implementation Plan ( ) Universal services SAFEGUARDINGSAFEGUARDING Universal Plus services Universal Partnership Plus services Your Community

Your community:- What this means in day to day in practice? -Health Visitors help people come together for support in community groups for example:- Breast feeding support groups, young parents groups, new parents groups. -Health Visitors are well placed to understand cultures and beliefs and can identify issues in the local community, for example:- early weaning practices, iron deficiency anaemia, high levels of tooth decay in the area, drug use, domestic abuse. -Health visitors can also be a resource for other Health Professionals working in the area about the specific area and their client’s needs. -The HV can promote Building Community Capacity to enable families and communities to build on their strengths to develop new ways for providing services locally.

Universal :- What this means in day to day practice? -The Health Visitor provides the Healthy Child Programme. (HCP) Department for children, schools and families (2009)The Healthy Child Programme Pregnancy and the first Five years of life. -Universal services are for everyone and they aim to reduce inequalities in health. -HCP offers screening, immunisation advice, wellbeing and parenting advice from pregnancy, birth and to 5 years of life. Day to day the Health Visitor will undertake developmental and health reviews (at key points in a child’s life) for example:- The antenatal visit, birth visit, health review at 6/52, health review at 3-4 months, health review before 1 year, health review at years.

Universal + What that means in day to day practice? -The Health Visitor ensures rapid response from the Health Visiting Team when families need specific expert help. -They offer targeted support for families when they need it most. -Examples would be, breastfeeding advice for a mother with a premature infant, sleep management advice, supporting parents with a child with specific behavioural problems, being a listening ear to a mother suffering possible post natal depression and sign posting them to the correct services. -Helping families sooner than later to prevent or limit further problems.

Universal Partnership + What this means in day to day practice? -The Health Visitor provides on going additional support for families with more complex needs. -The Health Visitor acts as a central point for families who need extra longer term support. -Examples would be families who have a child with a disability, those families who are socially disadvantaged or teenage mothers. -Health Visitors act as a key professional using their understanding of a range of services and their local community to co-ordinate more complex care.

Safeguarding:- -What this means in day to day practice? -The Health Visitor works with partners such as Social Care, where families have on going needs requiring multi-agency support. -In practice the HV will attend CAF’S(Common Assessment Framework) and Child Protection Case Conferences and Looked After Reviews for children in foster care.

In conclusion : Day to day the Health Visitor will:- -Deliver Universal Services with other members of the HV team and Lead on the Healthy Child Programme by delivering Health Assessments at key points of a child’s development. -Lead health improvement for example:- healthy eating, accident prevention, emotional wellbeing. -Help families stay in touch with wider sources of support, for example by running community groups and parent groups. -Be leaders of children’s health locally fostering partnerships between GP’s, midwives, Children’s Centres and Mental Health Services. Cont…..

Day to Day the Health Visitor will cont:- -Provide responsive care when families have problems and need support straight the way. -They link services up for families for example:-Midwifery, Primary Health Care and Family Services. -Work with partners, for example social care and education. -Promote Building Community Capacity, to enable families and communities to build on their strengths to develop new ways of providing services locally. -Provide early intervention to highlight health, developmental and other problems. Health Partnerships (2013) The value of health visitors and the new health visiting service.

“There is overwhelming evidence that tells us that the first few years in children’s lives shape their future development, and influence how well children do at school, their on going health and wellbeing and their achievements later in life. In addition, it is widely acknowledged that a strong focus on the first few years of children’s lives leads to huge economic, social and emotional benefits later on, both for individuals and for society as a whole.” Department for Education & Department for Health ( ) Supporting Families in the Foundation Years.

References. Department of Health (2009) Healthy Child Programme. Pregnancy and the first five years of life. Department of Health (2011) Health Visitor Implementation Plan Department for Education & Department for Health ( ) Supporting Families in the Foundation Years. Health Partnerships (2013) The value of health visitors and the new health visiting service.