Naledi Kline: Head of Nursing – Standards and PracticeJoana Quartey: Early Intervention Health Visitor

11th June 2013

Early contact: During pregnancy Targeted: Vulnerable pregnant women Service: Intensive work with women and their children Duration: Transfer to generic service between 13 – 24

months

Health Visitors MAPPIM: St. Thomas’ Hospital Midwives: St. Thomas’ Hospital Children & Young People’s Service (Lambeth) Children’s Centres (Lambeth) Peri-natal Units: KCH & St. George’s Hospital Community Mental Health Services Family Nurse Partnership (Lambeth) GPs (Lambeth)

Prevention of child abuse, safeguarding children by providing an early help service to support children and their families at the ‘softer’ end of child protection and safeguarding.

Our overarching aim is to work with parents and their children to enable them to achieve their full potential

Help & support to change behaviours, be the best they can as parents and meet their children’s physical, emotional mental and social needs.

Achieved by all four main areas of working as per Health Visitor Implementation Plan (2011-15): i. Community Servicesii. Universal Servicesiii. Universal Plus andiv. Universal Partnership Plus Services.

Special Focus on: The Triple ‘P’ (Positive Parenting Programme), Sleep Clinics, Baby Massage, Home Safety, Infant Resuscitation & Postnatal Support Groups, Personal Ambition.

Sleep Clinics: i. Gradual approach based on social learning theoryii. Families are supported to make small incremental

changes Healthy Child Programme Hard to reach and vulnerable families from antenatal

contact to 2nd birthday and throughout childhood within the universal teams’ caseload.

Based on helping child development through managing their behaviour in a constructive and non-hurtful way by:

i. Ensuring a safe and engaging environmentii. Creating a positive learning environmentiii. Using assertive disciplineiv. Focus on attachmentv. Having realistic expectationsvi. Taking care of themselves as parents

Builds confident early access to all services Increased antenatal contact includes individual care planning,

continuity into the postnatal period and first two years of life Increased breast feeding rates 100% uptake of Immunisations and Health Reviews Reduced A&E attendances Reduced rate of second pregnancies in teenagers Intensive, preventive approach ensures continuity of contact

and improved working relationship

Reduced risk of maternal mental illness Reduced risk of exiting mental illness worsening Increase potential for families to protect their children and

themselves from risk of significant harm in the long term Cost effective as fewer failed appointments lead to effective

use of staff time

Negative associations with health visiting and other services Lack of confidence, self esteem and feeling powerless Language barriers Fear No recourse to public funds Asylum seekers/refuges

High quality, integrated range of early intervention services to vulnerable children under two, their parents and carers

Planning and managing caseloads Increased contact with children and families Safeguard and

promote welfare of vulnerable children and families Identification and management of risk

Effective partnership working across Children’s Centres Effective interagency partnership working Re-integration of teenagers and young parents to mainstream

education Regular attendance of vulnerable families at short courses run

at the Children’s Centres has led to increased self esteem and self confidence for the parent users.

Ms S Watson and son J Watson

Ms T Cox and daughter L Cox

“ If you are thinking a year ahead, sow a seed. If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant a tree. If you are thinking a hundred years ahead. educate children.”

Tzu, Chinese poet 500BC

Thank you