What is a Health Visitor?
Your Health Visitor is a specially trained nurse and/or midwife who will support you during the first five years of your child’s life. For some people having a child comes easily, but for the majority of us the changes that a new baby brings to our lives can be difficult to adjust to. Your Health Visitor is there to help you get access to information or support that will help you give your child the best possible start in life.
We spend time with you to understand what plans and future hopes you have for your child, and work with you to achieve this by supporting you to be the best possible parent you can be. Whether you have concerns about infant feeding, sleep, mental health, speech development, understanding and responding to your child’s behaviour or school readiness – we are here to discuss them with you and support you in every way we can.
After speaking to lots of Blackpool parents and listening to what they wanted from their Health Visitor, we have changed the way we work to offer the help that you and your family need. We now encourage parents to take control of our visits by telling us what they want to talk about.
We champion the vital role that parents play in building their child’s brain and we are working as part of a joint workforce to raise this awareness across the community.
The appointments and contacts that every family are offered are shown in the table opposite.
We offer continuity of care wherever possible, through an allocated Health Visitor. You will also get to know the wider members of the Health Visiting team, such as, staff nurses and nursery nurses, throughout your child’s journey with us.
Your Health Visitor works as part of a wider team which includes GPs, Paediatricians, Speech Therapists, Dieticians, Family Support Workers, Early Parenthood Service and Social Workers. We work in the community and hold sessions at child health clinics at Family Hubs and through antenatal groups such as Baby Steps.
As well as the eight visits shown opposite, your Health Visiting team is also available to offer you additional support when you need it. We can discuss with you ways to make sure your baby is safe, help you adapt to busy family life, look at infant feeding, help you recognise how your baby communicates their need for sleep and soothing, and the best way for you to respond.
If your family needs support for more difficult issues such as domestic abuse, drug and alcohol problems or poor mental health,
then we work together with local services to make sure you get the right support when you need it. We are here to help you so please feel free to ask your Health Visitor any questions you have. We want to know what you think and will listen to your thoughts, as well as be on hand if you are worried about anything that may affect your child.
Health Visiting Team North 01253 956567
Health Visiting Team Central 01253 951694
Health Visiting Team South 01253 951641
This leaflet is evidence based wherever the appropriate evidence is available, and represents an accumulation of expert opinion and professional interpretation. Details of the references used in writing this leaflet are available on request from: Policy Co-ordinator/ Archivist - Telephone: 01253 953807
- 28 weeks - Birth
- Pre - 14 days
- 3 - 5 Weeks
- 6 - 8 Weeks
- 3 - 4 Months
- 9 - 12 Months
- 2 - 2 1/2 Years
- 3 - 3 1/2 Years
