The role of your health visitor

Health visitors are registered nurses with a specialist qualification in community health and health promotion for families with young children.

Your health visitor leads a team of nurses and nursery nurses whose skills compliment those of the health visitor.

As a team they aim to provide a family focused service which may be delivered in GP practices, Children’s Centres or at home. Health visitors can also provide support over the telephone. They work in partnership with other agencies, specifically health, education, social care and voluntary organisations, to support the wellbeing of families. 

How can we help you and your family?

The team can support the whole family and offer:

• Advice on your child’s growth and development
• Parenting support for mothers, fathers and carers
• Information on local support networks, e.g. antenatal and postnatal classes, fathers groups, toddler groups etc.
• Support for single parents
• Early detection of ill health
• Help to make sense of conflicting media messages about healthy lifestyles
• Advice on healthy eating and health promotion e.g. stop smoking services.

Emotional wellbeing

The team can advise, listen and direct families to find specialised help for coping with problem such as:

• Ante and postnatal depression
• Unemployment
• A recent bereavement
• A serious illness in the family
• An unhappy or violent relationship
• Family conflict
• Disability
• Settling into a new culture for families who have recently arrived from abroad.