Department of Health written question – answered at on 9 February 2015.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training health visitors receive on nutrition.
The Department does not keep a central record of training undertaken by health visitors. It is however aware that all specialist community public health nurses, including health visitors, participate in initial core training on nutrition.
Health visitors lead delivery of the Healthy Child Programme1 and the programme’s key developmental reviews include a focus on nutrition.
From 1 October 2015, the responsibility for commissioning children’s public health services, including health visitors, will transfer from NHS England to local authorities. The Department and partners have produced six ‘high impact area’ documents. These support local authorities and other stakeholders in preparation for the new commissioning arrangements and identify areas where health visitors have the most impact on children’s health and wellbeing. Two high impact areas of interest regarding nutrition are: ‘Breastfeeding (initiation and duration)2’, and ‘Healthy weight, healthy nutrition’3.
1Healthy Child Programme: Pregnancy and the First 5 Years of Life (published by Department of Health, 2009), available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/healthy-child-programme-pregnancy-and-the-first-5-years-of-life
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