Health Visitors

House of Lords written question – answered at on 26 September 2014.

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Photo of Lord Harrison Lord Harrison Chair, EU Sub Committee A - Economic and Financial Affairs

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 4,200 extra health visitors they are seeking to recruit by 2015 they expect (1) to work in the National Health Service, and (2) to complete training on identifying the signs of postnatal depression.

Photo of Earl Howe Earl Howe The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health

The additional 4,200 health visitors will all be providing front line services to families. Health visitor services are currently commissioned by NHS England as part of Section 7A of the NHS Act 2006*. NHS England’s Local Area Teams determine the most suitable local service provider. Currently, most provision is through a variety of National Health Service organisations, with a small proportion delivered by other organisations, including social enterprises. The trajectory for delivering growth of the health visitor workforce is not related to the type of provider. All services are based on a national model of health visiting and the NHS England service specification.

NHS England Area Teams and local authorities are working together in co-commissioning these services, prior to the lead commissioning role moving to local authorities in October 2015.

All health visitors, including the additional 4,200 being delivered by 2015, receive education and training on maternal mental health, so they can detect the early signs of postnatal depression and ensure all women get support during and after birth.

The NHS England 2014-15 service specification emphasises throughout, the role of the health visitor in promoting maternal mental health within clearly defined pathways. It makes clear that health visitors are expected to be trained and developed to be competent in delivering the evidence-based assessments and interventions set out in the Healthy Child Programme. In addition, NHS England is resourcing Area Teams to support delivery of the new model of health visiting which explicitly includes maternal mental health as a high impact area.

To supplement core training, health visitors are able to enhance their skills and knowledge in the context of their specific roles. The Department has earlier this year, commissioned the training of 375 perinatal mental health champions across England. The champions are cascading their training in local areas so as to facilitate the spread of knowledge and practice among colleagues. In addition to the champions’ training, all health visitors are able to access perinatal mental health e-learning modules.

Note

: *As amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

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