Health visitor advice just a call away for mums and dads in Redditch - The Redditch Standard

Health visitor advice just a call away for mums and dads in Redditch

Redditch Editorial 16th Feb, 2017   0

A NEW health visitor telephone advisory service for parents of children up to the age of five has been launched in Redditch this week.

The new phone line has been set up to provide additional support and advice over the phone to parents and is being run by Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust’s Health Visitors.

It will be manned by trained staff from the Health Visiting Team who can advise on issues such as feeding and behaviour. It can be accessed on – 0330 123 9551 – from 8am-4pm Monday – Friday.

If your baby or child is unwell you should seek medical advice by making an appointment with your GP or calling NHS 111.




Jane Cahill, service lead for public health nursing, said: “We are really pleased to be able to offer this new telephone advisory service where parents will be able to phone in and speak to a Health Visitor for advice on a number of parenting issues such as feeding, behaviour and constipation. It will give parents that one number they can contact to get the advice they need.”

The health visiting team form part of a new ‘Starting Well’ service that also includes School Health Nurses, Breastfeeding Support and Reach4Wellbeing, which is a new team launching in the spring.


What can you expect from your health visitor?

Health Visitors carry out regular checks at key points in a child’s development up to 2 ½ years. These include:

· A new birth visit (between 10 and 14 days),

· A visit at 6-8 weeks after birth,

· At 9-12 months old,

· And a final one when a child is between 2 and 2½ years.

All first time mums and families will also receive an ante-natal visit between 28 and 32 weeks pregnancy. This visit will also be offered to other families if required.

The telephone advisory service can support parents in between visits and until their child is 5.

What people say about this service:

“The service provided by the member of staff has been so unbelievably helpful. Thank for the great advice, support and reading literature. I really can’t thank you enough”

“Thank you for being our health visitor and for the advice and support you have given us.”

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