Health visiting 0-5 years

When do we visit you?

We will usually visit you and your baby at six key stages from 0-5 years, just to check you and your baby are healthy and developing well.  We will see you before your baby is born, shortly after your baby's birth, and at 6-8 weeks, 3-4 months, 9-12 months and 2-2 ½ years  Your child will then see their school nurse for routine health checks and for any further support that they may need. But if you're worried about something in-between visits, you can always contact us to get extra support.

Our health visiting team

Our health visitors are all fully qualified nurses that have specialist training in baby and children's health and in supporting families.  They work with a range of different people like your local doctor, your midwife, and local nurseries and childminders, to help you.  We also have community nursery nurses that work with our health visitors to support you on your child's development, including behaviour management, sleep, weaning, and toileting. The nursery nurse is often the person that contacts you to complete your scheduled visits.

How can you access the service?

All new parents will automatically be contacted by their health visitor so you don't need to worry about setting this up. You can meet your health visitor wherever is best for you – at home, at your local doctor, your community, or children's centre.  You can tell us what suits you at our first meeting before you give birth.

We usually visit between 8:30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. If you need help outside these hours, you should contact the local service that usually provides out-of-hours support like your pharmacy, or for more urgent queries, call 111.

Never leave your baby alone in the bath. They can be seriously hurt in as little as 5cm of water.

• keep objects containing button batteries well out of reach, they can be very dangerous, particularly if swallowed
• babies can wriggle their way to the edge of a raising surface very quickly, and change them on the floor
• children can't judge speed and distance of cars
  • set a good example – don't dash across roads
• don't rely on child-resistant caps
  • some three-year-olds can open them in seconds. Keep them out of reach

Contact

For more information visit the website here. You can also contact the team on 0300 373 0944 or visit their Facebook page.