Health visitors are registered nurses/midwives who have additional training in community public health nursing. Health visitors work with parents who have new babies, offering support and informed advice from the antenatal period until the child starts school at 5 years. 

They may work in teams or have sole responsibility for a caseload derived from the local area or a general practice list; they are usually based in children’s centres, surgeries, community or health centres. Health visitors visit parents through a minimum of 5 universal home visits from late pregnancy through to a developmental assessment at 2 years. These visits are usually in the home, but the health visitor may invite you to join groups, clinics and networks run by the health visiting team or colleagues who work with them such as: nursery nurses, children centre staff, voluntary organisations or community mothers. Families from all walks of life may need support for specific issues that affect their children’s health and development, so the actual service provided to each particular family will vary according to a personalised assessment of their own needs and evidence of what will work for them. 

Please watch this short video: Heath visitors for every family.