Homerton Health Visiting Service

Who are we?
Health visitors are nurses or midwives with specialist training in family and public health. We help parents and their families to improve health and wellbeing during pregnancy, after birth and all the way through until your child is five.

Homerton Health Visiting for Hackney & City Families
Health visitors are nurses or midwives with specialist training in family and public health. We help parents and their families to improve health and wellbeing during pregnancy, after the birth and all the way through until your child is five.
The Health Visiting Service in Hackney and the City is provided by Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
The Health Visiting Service is made up of 8 teams divided into 8 geographical areas across both boroughs. The teams are aligned to local Children Centres (in Hackney and the City) and GP surgeries (in Hackney and the City). For more information visit our website.

Baby Clinic
There’s a drop-in session on the last Monday of the month at 1 – 3 pm, Artizan Library, 1 Artizan Street E1 7AF
Attendance is by appointment only.
Call 0207 683 4151 or email: huh-tr.hackneyandcityhvintensive@nhs.net

Who do we work with?
We work as part of a wider health team which includes nursery nurses, GPs, midwives, paediatricians, psychologists, speech therapists, and other health professionals. We also work closely with Children’s Centre staff, family support workers, and Children’s Social Care.

Where will you see us?
You will meet us in your home or in local Well Baby Clinics, your GP’s surgery, a Children’s Centre, or in an Early Years setting. We offer you and your child five health and developmental appointments as part of the Department of Health's “Healthy Child Programme”. We are here to help, listen, understand your needs, and work in partnership with you to give your family the best start.

When will we see you?
• During your pregnancy – after 28 weeks you will be contacted by our team
• 10 – 14 days after the birth of your baby
• 6 to 8 weeks
• 8 to 12 months
• 27 months

What services and support do we offer?
Drop-in Well Baby Clinics which you can attend without an appointment.
Scheduled appointments
We can talk about any of the following issues that you and your family might need advice or support with:
• Breastfeeding
• Milk and food for babies, toddlers, and older children
• Sleep
• Understanding crying
• Managing childhood illnesses
• Your child’s development
• Your well-being as parents
• Understanding your child’s behaviour
• Play and stimulation
• Talking to your baby and child

Can health visitors help families who need extra advice and support?
Yes. Our service is for the whole family. We know that being a parent or carer can be very hard; particularly if you are feeling low, anxious, or you cannot cope.
Your health visitor can give you support and provide advice on:
• you and your family’s emotional health and wellbeing
• any additional health and developmental needs your baby or child might have
• developing a relationship with your baby
• domestic abuse
• drug and alcohol problems
• changes in your family life

What are Early Help Assessments and Referrals?
If you are worried about your child's or family’s safety you can ask us for help.
We work together with local services and parents to provide support, including safeguarding our local families and children.
All members of the Health Visiting team use the Children’s Social Care needs thresholds and referral pathways.
Staff who identify a child or family in need of additional support use a child-centred Early Help Form to make a referral to the Multi-Agency Team (MAT) at the Children's Centre.
The Health Visiting service will ensure that:
• Early and timely referrals take place
• The Early Help Form is used to assess children’s needs and to decide how these could best be met
• This form will be completed with parental agreement and discussion
• Early Help referrals to the Children's Centre team will identify supportive interventions for families.
• The Early Help Form will support joint working with other local services such as Early Years.

Some families have children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and often require additional support from specialist services.

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s progress, you can speak to your doctor or health visitor. These concerns could be with common issues such as sleep or toilet training or any questions regarding your child’s development such as speech and language or reaching other developmental milestones.

We work closely with Hackney Ark which a centre for children and young people with
disability and special education’s needs (SEN), the service has a specialist health visitor who works closely with these partners in supporting families.

Your health visitor will try to help or link you in with a specialist service that can help.