Summary
This report outlines the results of a survey carried out by The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV)—the largest UK survey of frontline health visitors working with families with babies and young children across the UK. Poverty was the cause of greatest concern to health visitors, with 93% reporting an increase in the number of families affected by poverty in the last 12 months. Other key findings included:
- 89% of health visitors reported an increase in the use of food banks
- 78% an increase in perinatal mental illness
- 69% an increase in domestic abuse
- 63% an increase in homelessness and asylum seekers
- 50% an increase in families skipping meals as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.
Content
Recommendations
- A cross-government commitment that prioritises and invests in the first 1001 days is needed. Spending needs to be seen as a capital investment in our nation’s future, rather than as a cost.
- A much greater focus on prevention and early intervention is needed to support all people to lead healthy and fulfilling lives.
- The important ‘health’ contribution of health visitors needs to be maximised. The benefits of a well-resourced health visiting service accrue across the health system (to the NHS, GPs, urgent care, as well as public health).
- A national plan to strengthen health visiting in England, focused on three areas: funding, workforce and quality.
- Close the temporary Covid-19 amendment to “count” non-face-to-face health visiting mandated contacts in the national health visitor service delivery metrics for England.
State of health visiting UK survey report: Millions supported as others miss out (18 January 2024)
https://ihv.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/State-of-Health-Visiting-Report-2023-FINAL-VERSION-16.01.24.pdf
0
reactions so far
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now