Core opening hours: 

  • 9am - 4:30pm - Monday to Friday 

You can also call our 1 simple number: 01905 520032 during these hours to speak to different members of the Starting Well team

Additional services with different operating hours: 

  • ChatHealth text messaging service for 11-19 year olds. Text 07507331750 from 9am - 5pm - Monday to Friday 

Who are Health Visitors (sometimes known as Specialist Public Health Nurses)?

Health Visitors are nurses or midwives, who have had specialist training in child development and health promotion. We support families to prevent illness and promote good health.

We provide a family focused service to support you and your family to have a positive start in live until your child turns 5 years old. Working with the community to ensure our service is accessible to all.

 

Image of a health visitor with icons round to symbolise the different things that make up a health visitor Registered nurses or midwives With additional qualifications in Specialist Community Public Health Nursing Passionate about early intervention and preventative care Love feedback to improve out service and practice Support antenatally until five years old Specialised in child development and health promotion Provide children and families the best start in life

What we do?

The team are supported by Community Staff Nurses and Community Nursery Nurses, who are highly trained practitioners in child development.

Together with Health Visitors, we deliver the universal elements of the 0-5 Healthy Child Programme for families with children aged 0-19 years and up to 25 years for those children and young people with special needs.

The Healthy Child Programme (HCP) is a public health programme for children, young people, and families, focusing on early intervention and prevention including:

Health Visitor role infographic image Image of a family in the centre with symbols around the edge Child and family focused Safeguarding children and vulnerable families Identifying and managing childhood illnesses Immunisations/ screening Child development and school readiness Infant feeding support Referrals into other support and specialist interventions Parental health and wellbeing Healthy lifestyle promotion and accident prevention

What your Health Visiting journey may look like?

Image of a expectant women and her partner

 Antenatal Visit:

Your first interaction with a member of the team is likely to be an Antenatal visit. Congratulations, your midwife will have let us know you about your pregnancy and we will reach out to let you know about our services when you are between 28-32 weeks pregnant.

 Image of new parents and a baby sitting on a bedNew Birth Visit: 

After you have given birth and have settled back at home, a Health Visitor will come to visit. This usually take place between day 10 -14 post-delivery but may take place up to 21 days after your baby was born. During this appointment the health visitor will ask how you, your partner, family, and baby are feeling. We will provide any information, advice and support you may require about caring for your new baby.

 Two mums holding a young baby 6-8 Week Review:

Between 6-8 weeks, a Health Visitor will visit again to see how you are getting on. This appointment will also give you chance to talk about some of the things you spoke about at the new birth visit again. The health visitor will also talk to you about activities you can do with your baby and changes you will see as they develop.

 Image of two toddlers12-month Review:

Around the time your child turns 1, we will contact you with an appointment to review your child’s development. Ahead of the appointment, we will ask you to complete a questionnaire about your child’s development to date.

But please remember, all children progress at their own pace and your child does not need to be able to do everything in the questionnaire.

 Cartoon image of a group of toddlersIntegrated 2 1/2-year Review (All About Me @ 2):

When your child is between 2 - 2.5 year’s, we will arrange for another appointment to check your child’s development. In Worcestershire, this review done in partnership with your child’s early year’s setting (childminder, nursery, preschool or playgroup). The ‘All About Me @ 2’ integrated review, is carried out by, both a member of the health visiting team and your child’s early year’s setting. The checks from both settings help to ensure that your child’s developmental needs are met, and any support is put in place if any issues are identified.

How to contact your Health Visitor

Usually, the only times you will meet with a member of the team is at one of the visits listed above. However, the Health Visiting team is a totally parent led service and support is still available to help you and your family until your child reaches 5 years old.

If your child is under 5 years old and you can always call our Telephone Advisory Service (TAS) on: 01905 520 032, which is available Monday – Friday from 9am-1pm to discuss any concerns you may have and you can always call our 1 simple number on: 01905 520 032, to discuss any health and development concerns you may have regarding your child.

You can also email your local team using the details below:

 

Safeguarding

Our Health Visitors work closely with the Safeguarding Children's Board and Integrated Safeguarding Team to ensure that all Children and Young People within our area are safe and cared for.

  • An unhappy or violent relationship or family conflict
  • Immunisation/screening programmes
  • Safeguarding Children
  • General health advice and referral to appropriate services
  • Supporting with healthy eating