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CYPS Health Visiting Service Update for families and Stakeholders in Gloucestershire

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Gloucestershire Health Visiting Service 0-5 years, have provided an update on what they offer and how they can be contacted, along with the latest public health advice for you and your family

Take a look at our website or scan the QR code to find out about your local Health Visiting Service:

For information about The GHC Health Visiting Service - Including how to contact us and when we visit parents/carers:

Visit:  GHC Health Visiting Service Information

QR code for health visiting information

The Health Visiting Service is a commissioned universal 0 – 19 service it offers 5 universal contacts, from the antenatal period until a child is two. All referrals into the HV service require agreement by the parent/carer.

Images shows Your health visiting journey -showing a 6 stage process over 26 weeks of antinatal contact. It states '26 week antenatal contact - Your midwife and health visitor will meet with you to discuss anything that might be worrying you, as well as sharing information about breastfeeding, infant feeding, bed sharing, supporting a smoke-free pregnancy as well as health diet and immunisation advice and mental health support available to you and your partner should you need it.' The diagram below is shares the different stages of involvement. 1: 26 week contact (above a silhouette image of a pregnant woman). 2: 7-14 day new birth visit (below a silhouette image of a woman holding a baby). 3: 6-8 week postnatal visit (above a silhouette image of a parent pushing a wheelchair). 4: 6 month introduction to solid food (below a silhouette image of a bowl of fruit and veg). 5: 9-12 month developmental review (above a silhouette image of a a baby using building blocks). 6: 2 year developmental review (below a silhouette image of a woman holding the hand of a small child).

Emotional Wellbeing: Your health visitor can support you with your emotional wellbeing. If you feel you have mild to moderate concerns about your mental health, give us a call.

The Health Visiting Service provides 0-5 years drop-in community baby hubs across the county, where parents/carers can have their child weighed, receive public health advice and talk to a Community Nursery Nurse. Below are the contact numbers for the county’s six Health Visiting Service teams, their locations can be found on the website.

One-to-one, face-to-face baby clinic and home visit appointments can be booked by telephoning your local HV team:

  • Gloucester: 0300 421 4667 / Quedgeley 0300 421 6978
  • Cheltenham: 0300 421 6486
  • Cotswolds: 0300 421 6952
  • Tewkesbury: 0300 421 6166
  • Stroud: 0300 421 8967 / Vale 0300 421 8433
  • Forest of Dean: 0300 421 8746

Ages and Stages (ASQ) 1 and 2-year developmental reviews are offered as face-to-face appointments in our clinics. The HV service has been working with Gloucestershire County Council to identify children that have not been brought to a developmental review and are entitled to a free 2-year educational place in a local setting.

Between October 23 and April 2024 approximately 350 children per month were not brought to a Health Visiting appointment, the majority were development reviews. If your child has missed or not received an invitation, or not attended a 1- or 2-year developmental review please contact your local team on the numbers provided above.

Sometimes it can be quicker to contact the following services direct, before phoning your Health Visiting Team: 

Speech and Language: The GHC Speech and language team support children with difficulties with communication. They offer support, advice and information.  Handy guides and resources can be found by following this link. Parents/carers can also book an appointment directly with the speech and language service after watching a video: visit our website or contact the following number 0300 421 8937

Getting ready for school:  Starting school is an exciting time for parents/carers and children, and there are things that they can do to help make sure your child gets the most out of the experience. Here you will find useful links to resources to support such a transition: Getting ready for school | Gloucestershire County Council

Continence: There are currently over 300 children in Gloucestershire on the bladder and bowel referral pathway.  The Health Visiting is currently offering toilet training/ continence updates to all nursery settings within the county. All parents/carers of children that are 2 ½ receive an SMS message with a link to the following toilet training videos:

 

Autism & ADHD

Gloucestershire parents and carers who may be considering accessing an Autism or ADHD assessment for their child can now access a new website which offers guidance and recommended resources. New website to support families in Gloucestershire who are considering an Autism or ADHD assessment for their child : NHS Gloucestershire ICB (nhsglos.nhs.uk)

Accident prevention

Child Safety Week 3/6/24 - 9/6/24: “Safety. Sorted!”

Our Home Safety Team will be out on the Community Health Bus in 3 different locations (Gloucester, Cheltenham & Stroud) during this week as a catalyst to promote safety conversations. Home Safety sessions will be delivered in our Baby Hubs from the end of May & into June. This will be advertised on GHC & Health Visiting Social Media channels to align with the Child Accident Prevention Trust’s annual campaign.

Infant Feeding 

The Health Visiting service provides specialist feeding support for families, no matter how you choose to feed your child. Talk to your Health Visitor or Community Nursery Nurse who can signpost you to your nearest feeding hub.

Healthy Start Vitamins

Here is the process in Gloucestershire for eligible families to access free vitamins:  gcc_3147_healthy_start_flyer_web.pdf (ghc.nhs.uk)

Promoting Positive Parent/Child Attachment

Video Interactive Guidance ‘VIG’ works in a respectful and collaborative way with families using edited video clips of “better than usual” communication between people as the basis of reflective dialogue about how to develop the relationship further.

It is a relationship-based intervention which helps parents become more sensitive and attuned to their child’s emotional needs, regardless of the age of the child.’ For more information click on this link here: ’ https://tavistockandportman.nhs.uk/  Or speak to your local HV team about VIG if you are interested.

How to spot where we are:

To make is easier for parents and carers to know where we are, the HV service now has banners and flags advertising our presence. If you see any outside of a venue, it means that we are present and available. So, pop in and say hello!

 

 

 

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