Health visiting: Pregnancy and early years

The Healthy Child Programme is commissioned by the London Borough of Barnet which includes the Health Visiting and School Nursing Service. This service is for children, young people and families 0-19 and up to 25 years for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Health Visiting Service

All children are automatically entitled to health visiting services when they are born, and parents will be contacted for a visit.

Our health visiting team includes Health Visitors, Staff Nurses, student Health Visitors, Community Nursery Nurses, student nurses, Administrators and other health professionals.

What is a Health Visitor?

Health visitors are qualified nurses that have completed a specialist community public health degree. Health visitors lead on the Healthy Child Programme. For more information, click on the link below.

Healthy Child Programme Schedule of Interventions

Health visitors also work in partnership with other services such as GPs, Midwives, Social Workers, Children’s Centre staff, therapists, Paediatricians and Dieticians to name a few.

What does a Health Visitor do?

• Lead a team to deliver the Healthy Child Programme to children 0 to 5 years and up to 25 years for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and their families
• Health visitors work in partnership with other services such as GPs, midwives, social workers, children’s centre staff, therapists, paediatricians and dieticians to name a few
• Give confidential advice, and support to parents/carers and families with children under the age of 5
• Monitor a child’s physical and emotional health and development by undertaking health reviews. Health reviews are undertaken during the antenatal period, 10 to 14 days after birth and when your baby is 6 to 8 weeks old. Reviews are also undertaken when a child is 1 year old and 2 - 2 ½ years old
• Provide health promotion advice to parents and carers to ensure that children reach their full health and developmental wellbeing. This includes oral health promotion
• Provide advice and support for parental emotional health and wellbeing

The Health Visiting service offers

• All families including antenatal women needing additional support will be offered a range of contacts which may include video consultation or home visits depending on the level of need
• The new birth contact will be carried out face to face
• The 6-to-8-week contact will include a health review and maternal mood assessment

Further resources for parents and families

The Institute of Health Visiting is dedicated to supporting the health and wellbeing of all families and have put together links and resources from trusted organisations and websites to support parents and families

How to refer

Self-referral

Duty Line is available 5 days a week from 9am to 5pm. Parents and young people can call for support and advice. The duty line will be staffed by an administrator and a clinician from the Health Visiting Team.

telephone: Duty Number: 020 7288 3211

email: hcp.4barnet@nhs.net