What is a Health Visitor
A Health Visitor in the United Kingdom is a registered qualified nurse or midwife who undertakes further training in order to work with families who have children aged 0-5 years old, offering support, guidance and advice during the early years which can often be a bewildering and difficult time for new parents.
Every baby that is born in the United Kingdom regardless of nationality or social standing is allocated to a Health Visitor who is to be available for the first 5 years of his/her life.
Once the baby has been born and the midwife has handed over the file for the mother, the Health Visitor will visit the new mum and baby at their home and offer advice on all aspects of child-raising, such as breastfeeding and weaning, childhood diseases, common childhood skin problems, teething solutions, potty training, sleep issues and safety in the home, to mention but a few.
A Health Visitor will usually visit the family during the last trimester of the pregnancy in order to introduce herself and the support she can offer. Following the birth of the baby, the Health Visitor will then visit the family within the first 3 weeks following the birth, as well as 4 weeks later for a follow-up visit. ‘Mood assessments’ are offered to the mothers at 4 months and 8 months. The baby is reviewed developmentally at 7-8 months and 18 months – 2 years, and usually are offered two ‘weight check’ appointments before the baby’s first birthday. Immunisations are offered at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 12 months, 13 months and 3 years and 4 months.
Many Health Visitors administer childhood vaccinations during ‘Immunisation Clinics’ and perform ‘Developmental Checks’ or ‘Health and Wellbeing Checks’ during Health Visitor initiated clinics or at the parent’s home. Other Health Visitors set up ‘First Time Mum’ groups and introduce mothers to toddler groups and other child-related activities in the area.
The visits and clinic appointments are dependant on the area in which the mother resides, as different areas follow different care plans. Also, different care providers will have different roles dealing with the various components of the care plan, for example, the immunisations may be administered by a staff nurse, or the GP’s surgery, or the developmental checks may be performed by a community nursery nurse.
Also, should the family have other issues such as homelessness, alcoholism or drug abuse, then the contact between Health Visitor and family will be more extensive than the basic programme described above.
Health Visitors also offer support and advice regarding the more complicated aspects that may affect families with young children, such as dealing with drug abuse, homelessness, bereavement and domestic violence. Health Visitors offer ‘listening visits’ to mothers who suffer from post-natal depression and make referrals if they feel that further intervention is required.
Health Visitors are also often the link between the child and other NHS services, such as paediatricians, diet specialists, child ophthalmologists and other healthcare professionals that the child may need during his early years.
