EM Strategic Health Authority - More about being a Health Visitor...

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What I value about health visiting is the ability to put my knowledge to good use, the mental stimulation the job affords and the flexibility it has for innovative work.

I like the interagency working and feel privileged to have had the opportunity to have worked with some amazing people who were/are clients and service users. My admiration and respect of them goes on.

Sally Merrick, Health Visitor

By 2015, the Health Visitor will lead and deliver the Healthy Child Programme (a national programme to improve the health of all children, offered from pregnancy – five years).

They will also manage the health team that provides the following four levels of service:

Your community – health visitors will encourage parents to access services and local groups in their community that will help to create a healthy environment in which their family can grow.

Universal – everybody who has a child under five years will receive this health visitor-led service. It includes assessing families’ strengths and needs, building therapeutic relationships, and equipping parents to be the best they can be. It also includes health education and implementing the Healthy Child Programme.

Under the Healthy Child Programme every family will receive the following:

ante natal contact to prepare families for the new arrival
new baby visit to assess how things are going and future health visiting input
six week assessment to review the health, growth and development of mum and baby
3-4 month assessment of mum and baby’s health and wellbeing
8-12 month assessment to review the baby’s health, growth and development and plan any future health visiting input
2-2.5 year assessment to review the child’s health, growth and development and plan any future health visiting input.

Universal plus – the health visiting team offers additional services for families from time to time, for example if the child is suffering from colic, illness or sleeping problems or if the parents are suffering mental health problems.

Universal partnership plus – involves other agencies and partners, for example when a family is looking after a disabled child or for families who might need increased support such as teenage parents, those with mental health problems or vulnerable families. It also includes managing safeguarding issues for children and their families.

All four levels of the service work with families to help children to fulfil their potential. The health visiting team includes many other staff with different skills and expertise including nursery nurses and community nurses who all work together to benefit children and their families. The teams work closely with Sure Start children’s centres.

For further information visit the Department of Health website.

Click to read the Morning in the Life of article

A health visitor has a diverse and rewarding role, helping families in local communities to truly fulfil their potential. There are many myths about the health visiting service; take a look at these below - alongside the reality.

No two days are the same! Read our 'Morning in the life of a health visitor' article (courtesy of East Midlands Leadership Academy) to find out more about typical activities.

Myth Health visitors …...	Fact Health visitors ……
just weigh babies	Work with the local community and all families (from antenatal to children aged five years old) to promote a healthy start in life working with local authorities and GPs
inspect how clean your house is	Help families to create a safe and healthy environment for their children to reach their full potential
check for headlice	Advise parents on caring for their families and complete full health assessments at key stages in life
are social workers	Have a statutory responsibility for child protection. They work closely with social workers and other professionals on the occasions this is necessary
provide an emergency service, 24/7	Work mostly 9am – 5pm weekdays, although some provide a rapid response telephone line
are all middle-class women	Reflect the diverse, modern face of the NHS and include men – there are three male health visitors in the East Midlands
take children away from their families	Support families who are having difficulty and co-ordinate help from other agencies
aren’t well qualified	Are skilled and highly qualified. They complete full nurse or midwifery training followed by specialist post-graduate training to become Specialist Practitioners in Public Health.

The East Midlands needs more health visitors!

Are you:

A health visitor who’d like to return to practice?

A registered nurse or midwife?

Just starting out….

Return to Practice

If you are qualified as a health visitor already, but have not maintained your NMC registration, you can complete our return to practice course.

The Return to Health Visiting course is currently a fully funded programme, it is a theory and clinical based course that is designed to meet individual professional needs, depending on how long they have been away from health visiting.

Health Visitors must complete a NMC Return to Practice (RTP) course if they have not completed:

35 hours of learning activity relevant to practice in the last three years

and 100 days (or 750 hours) clinical practice in the previous five years.

This is a mandatory requirement set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). In order for an individual to re-register as a health visitor, formal training must include the individual:

Attending a recognised and validated formal Return to Practice Course - working in a Health Visiting clinical area for a minimum of 75 hours with a chosen mentor.

Part-time or full-time training routes are available, which can be completed over a period of between three to six months. There are four intakes per year usually in January, March, June and September.

A returner can expect:

The RTP programme fees will be paid

Additional bursary to provide support towards travel, childcare and book costs

A personal mentor

A clinical placement

Courses in the East Midlands are available at both Nottingham and Northampton Universities. Application is through the Universities and supported by the local Provider organisations - details of application can be found at the links below.

Further information can be found in the Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association (CPHVA) practical guide for people wanting to return to practice.

Registered nurses or midwives

If you have completed your nursing or midwifery training and are interested in working as a health visitor in the community, we are recruiting now!

You can apply to be a student health visitor via the NHS Jobs website or find out more by contacting the people below. The post includes a fully-funded, one-year degree programme to gain the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing qualification. Successful applicants will usually receive a salary while training, equivalent to Agenda for Change Band 5 (this could vary according to local policy).

Contact

Contacts for more details:

Derbyshire Community Health Services, Judith Moore, tel 01773 820093 / email
judith.moore@dchs.nhs.uk

Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Jane Elliott, tel: 01332 623700 ext 3647 / email Jane.Elliott2@derbyshcft.nhs.uk .

Leicester City, Collette Towey, tel 0116 2958315

Leicester County and Rutland, Nicy Turney, tel 01858 438175

Lincolnshire Community Health Services, Sarah Mckown, tel 07789 032434 / email sarah.mckown@lpct.nhs.uk

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Jackie Hearty, tel 01536 494180 / email Jackie.Hearty@nhft.nhs.uk

Nottingham CityCare Partnership, Jackie Brocklehurst, tel 0115 8839524

County Health Partnerships (Nottinghamshire Healthcare), Liz Hallam, tel 01623 673761 / email liz.hallam@nottshc-chp.nhs.uk or Michelle Bateman, tel 01623 673784 / email michelle.bateman@nottshc-chp.nhs.uk -

Courses for Health Visitors

Details of the courses and their content:

De Montfort University

Programme ref: B71044

BSc (Hons) Specialist Community Public Health Nursing, Health Visiting

Programme Leader – Deborah Millington – email dmillington@dmu.ac.uk

NEXT INTAKE: September 2012

University of Derby

Msc Community Specialist Practice

http://www.derby.ac.uk/community-specialist-practice-msc-incorporating-pg-dip

Msc Specialist Community Public Health Nursing

http://www.derby.ac.uk/specialist-community-public-health-nursing-msc-incorporating-pg-dip

NEXT INTAKE: September 2012

Sheffield Hallam University

BSc (Honours) Specialist Community Public Health Nursing – Health Visiting

http://www.shu.ac.uk/prospectus/course/185/

NEXT INTAKE: September 2012

University of Northampton

Specialist Public Community Health Nursing

http://www.northampton.ac.uk/courses/338/specialist-community-public-health-nursing-msc/

Return to Practice

http://www.northampton.ac.uk/courses/263/return-to-professional-practice/ce

NEXT INTAKE: May 2013

University of Nottingham

Return to Practice only

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nmp/Learning-Beyond-Registration/return-to-practice.aspx

Four intakes throughout the year

Just starting out

Health visitors are all qualified nurses or midwives. If you are just starting out on your chosen career you need to complete your nurse or midwifery qualification first then go on to complete the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing degree to specialise as a health visitor.

If you are part way through your pre-registration nursing or midwifery course, please consider health visiting as your future career path.

How to get a job as a health visitor

Once qualified, you are eligible to apply for health visiting posts. These are advertised on the NHS Jobs website. Health visiting roles usually start at Agenda for Change Band 6 and further development opportunities are then available for you to continue to progress your career.