Jump to content

Mothers and babies at risk as vital health services in England stay shut


Mothers and babies are being put at risk as vital health checks and support services remain shut months after lockdown was lifted, health professionals and charities have warned.

Face-to-face services for new families stopped when lockdown began in March last year and have not come back in many parts of the country. Now experts fear the spread of the Omicron variant and the reintroduction of some restrictions means the reopening will be delayed further.

Missing services include drop-in baby-weighing clinics, tongue-tie clinics, face-to-face breastfeeding support and council-run baby classes and playgroups.

Experts have accused the government of failing to prioritise the needs of a generation of babies and their parents, with cost-cutting and a shortage of midwives and health visitors blamed for the closures.

Health visitor drop-in clinics are “no longer running” in nearly a third of areas, and around 28% of newborn checks are being carried out via phone or video call, according to the No One Wants to See My Baby report by charities the Parent-Infant Foundation, Home-Start UK and Best Beginnings.

The Institute of Health Visiting said different interpretations of government guidance meant some areas had brought back full services while others had not, creating a “postcode lottery of support for families”.

It questioned official advice that routine checks could continue to be done via video and telephone calls, warning there was no evidence these were “safe or effective”.

Executive director Alison Morton said: “Alongside the concerns of parents, there is a growing body of evidence that childhood conditions and disabilities are being missed, and vulnerable babies and young children are being harmed, as they are invisible to services when these assessments are not completed face to face.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 12 December 2021

0 Comments


Recommended Comments

There are no comments to display.


Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...