Health Visitor with mum and baby at home

HEALTH VISITING & SCHOOL NURSING TEAMS

Health visitors work with parents and carers to ensure that children have the best start in life and are able to achieve their full potential.

Healthy Families Northumberland

Healthy Families Northumberland provides 0-19 health services for children, young people and families in Northumberland. Click here to go directly to the healthy families Northumberland website.

The health visiting and school nursing teams providing support and encouragement through the early years from pregnancy and birth, to primary school and beyond to support you to stay healthy and avoid illness.

The health visiting and school nursing teams work with midwives, GPs, Family Hubs and local community and voluntary services. They also work jointly with other groups, including schools, children’s services and children’s charities, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The team can also refer you to other services to support you with more specialist problems.

You can contact your health visitor through your GP surgery. Find out more about 0-19 health services by clicking here.

HV 0-5 Service

Health visiting (0-5 years)

Growing Healthy 0-19

As a new parent, following the support you'll receive from the local midwifery service, the (0-5) health visiting team will step in to offer further support including information to support your baby's development and to check in on you as a new parent.

10 days after childbirth, care transfers from a midwife to a health visitor. The midwife steps back and the health visitor is on hand to provide information, advice and encouragement to support families up until their child starts school. Health visitors are qualified and registered nurses or midwives who have completed a specialist community public health nursing programme.

What can I expect from the health visiting (0-5) service?

Health visiting services must offer a minimum of five health and development reviews to every parent, whether or not it is their first baby. Parents should first meet a health visitor for an antenatal review 28 weeks into a pregnancy. Together they discuss physical, mental and emotional health as well as the transition to parenthood.

A health visitor may visit a family at their home, in a health or children’s centre facility, or the review may take place over the telephone. Ideally, these would take place antenatally, 10 to 14 days after your baby’s birth, again at six to eight weeks, between nine and 12 months and between the age of two and two and a half.

Health visitors support parents and carers to help give babies the best start in life. The health visitor will discuss bonding with your baby and responding to baby's needs, and make sure your baby is putting on weight and meeting developmental milestones.

The health visitor will discuss smoke free homes, breastfeeding, maternal mental health and immunisations. They can also signpost you to further information and provide additional support when needed.

Northumberland Growing Healthy 0-19 app

The Growing Healthy Northumberland app provides same day health chat messaging service and much more from the health visiting team (0-5 years) and school nurse team (5-19 years), Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm.

Click here to download the app on android, OR click here to download the app on apple.