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Original poster

"Unite and Netmums to provide parenting support" - Were Mumsnet asked ?

58 replies

Gameboy · 07/03/2008 16:36

Just saw this:
"The Unite/Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association and mothers' social networking website Netmums have been given £500,000 by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to provide joint support to people with parenting problems.

A team of health visitors will help mothers who come online with problems such as postnatal depression, parenting and relationship issues, anxiety, self-harm, and alcohol abuse.

If the problems are too serious, the health visitors will offer one-to-one counselling on a "closed" area of a site and/or recommend that the women see a health professional in person."

I'm just being nosey really, but I wondered if Mumsnet was asked if it was interested in doing this?

OP posts:
julesrose · 07/03/2008 19:02

VS I totally agree - having HV's lurking and ready to pounce might really put some people off posting. What next - social workers poking around ready to 'intervene'.

VictorianSqualor · 07/03/2008 17:51

It might be a really fun past-time testing said HV's on netmums though

tortoiseSHELL · 07/03/2008 17:51

I think you're right pruners. But how scary to have a 'closed' area with HVs peddling their advice....and no means of checking it or even knowing what they're saying....

pruners · 07/03/2008 17:46

Message withdrawn

mcnoodle · 07/03/2008 17:46

And the problem is that you invest so much into delivering this kind of project that, when the money runs out, you feel as though you need to keep the work going. The reality is that, unless government continue to fund, no grant funder will touch it. And given that gov priorities change every blardy week, it is unlikely that they would fund beyond the lifetime of the initial grant. In 3 years time, landing on Mars will be priority - not mothers.

Pah to netmums, health visitors and the DCSF

Wotz · 07/03/2008 17:45

Yes you will have to rethink your privacy policy of you take up outside resources like this. They'll want to collate all sorts of information on members.

tortoiseSHELL · 07/03/2008 17:44

pmsl at the idea of having health visitors on hand. Just imagine the conversations....

OP - 'my lo has only gained 3 oz this week - should I be worried?'

HV - 'well, yes, we really look for 8 oz, you need to give them some formula asap otherwise they will wither away and die....'

Tiktok/Hunker - 'Nooooooooooo'.....

purplemonkeydishwasher · 07/03/2008 17:44

"We have 400 000 monthly visitors" erm, does that count the 27 times i login in the course of a normal day?

Squiffy · 07/03/2008 17:44

fuck me - are they really sponsored by Nestle?

VictorianSqualor · 07/03/2008 17:41

Personally, I'm glad MN isn't being taken over by HV's.
I mean what are they seriously going to do better than what we do here already?

"A team of health visitors will help mothers who come online with problems such as postnatal depression, parenting and relationship issues, anxiety, self-harm, and alcohol abuse."

Ok, we help these people too, as a community there is always someone who has been through the same, and always people with relevant, upt-o-date information, plus we aren't tied to anyone or anything so can be 100% honest in our approaches.

As for
"If the problems are too serious, the health visitors will offer one-to-one counselling on a "closed" area of a site and/or recommend that the women see a health professional in person"

I think the 'closed area' of the site is a really really bad idea. What if the HV gives bad advice? At least on a normal thread if bad advice is given it will be challenged, also I think that every thread I have ever read when someone has asked for help has given phone numbers/websites etc of the right person/people to go about it, so they can stick their money up their bum AFAIC. MN doesn't need it, we are best as we are.

MNHQ
JustineMumsnet · 07/03/2008 17:41

Thanks mcnoodle - that's exactly what we need to hear. And besides there's nothing wrong with the shed that a lick of paint won't fix...

mcnoodle · 07/03/2008 17:34

I'm a fundraiser - this money will come with all sorts of 'strings' attached. Targets to be reached, evidence to be collected and evaluated. i imagine that it will have an impact on the 'feel' of the site.

To be honest - having spent my life trying to deliver projects funded by government agencies - you are probably best out of it.

It is very rare for any project to achieve 'full cost recovery;. Suspect netmums will rue the day.

Hope that cheers you up!

VictorianSqualor · 07/03/2008 17:30

We pwn NetMums in all 3 stats here

Carmenere · 07/03/2008 17:29

Very about this. Firstly it is very of them to 'massage' the figures for their pitch/pr and secondly I think it is probably a risk that they are taking.

And as for mn, probably a lucky near miss, I suspect that this would change the very nature of mn if it was implemented here, ie it could well corrupt the very thing that makes mn the most popular parenting website in the UK.

Lizzer · 07/03/2008 17:24

£500,000?

Biggest website?

Nestle sponsored?

Tsk, tsk....

slyandgobbo · 07/03/2008 17:17

But they are much more earnest than MN.
And probably less full of rucks...

mazzystar · 07/03/2008 17:16

Well I think its all very good and all that and if it provides another portal for people to get the help they need then great.

And I am heartily glad that Mumsnet haven't done it. I think it would irrevocably change the nature of the site. And I expect they will have a devil of a job accvunting for the expenditure and number crunching to prvve value for money.

Lulumama · 07/03/2008 17:16

not sure how a website that accepts sponsorhsip from nestle can be expected to offer bias free advice about infant feeding

hecate · 07/03/2008 17:15

go for some sort of funding...lottery grants for example??

MNHQ
JustineMumsnet · 07/03/2008 17:14

We have 400 000 monthly visitors and according to Hitwise Netmums has considerably less .

MNHQ
JustineMumsnet · 07/03/2008 17:13

ahem - the UK's largest social networking site for mothers - not according to independent stats!

goodness me i'm shocked now!

Original poster
Gameboy · 07/03/2008 17:10

Just found the press release:

UNITE/CPHVA JOINS WITH NETMUMS TO HELP TROUBLED MUMS
ON THE INTERNET

Unite/Community Practitioners? and Health Visitors? Association and Netmums ? the UK largest social networking site for mothers ? have joined forces to help up to 50,000 mothers a year with parenting problems on the internet.

Netmums has received £500,000 from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to explore new ways of delivering support services to parents ? and Unite/CPHVA is working with Netmums on this internet project.

A team of dedicated health visitors will be helping mothers who come ?on line? with problems such as postnatal depression; parenting and relationship issues; anxiety; self harm; and alcohol abuse. It is hoped that mothers will pick up tips for good practice in the internet discussions.

Should the problems be too serious, the health visitors will offer one-to-one counselling on a ?closed? area of a site and/or recommend that the women see a health professional in person.

Unite/CPHVA?s Acting Lead Professional Officer, Cheryll Adams said: ?This is a ?first? for the UK and it is great that the country?s largest professional body for health visitors and community nurses is joining forces with one of the country?s largest ?consumer champions? for mums.?

?In the sophisticated 24/7 internet age, we do need to find innovative ways to communicate with parents and Netmums has been a trailblazer in this respect.?

It is expected that the scheme ? due to start this spring ? and also involving Contact a Family; ACE; Parentline Plus; Women?s Aid; and One Plus One will provide expert advice to some 50,000 mothers in its first year. The grant runs till March, 2009.

Sally Russell, co-founder of Netmums said: ?Every week we are dealing with a terrifying number of mums that simply aren?t receiving the support that they need. This grant not only recognises the power of social networking as a means of reaching out to those that need help, it also engages those that have slipped through the bureaucratic net.?

Netmums is the largest parenting website in the UK and has more than 750,000 users every month.

_

How many users a month does MN have Justine?

OP posts:
ggglmpp · 07/03/2008 17:10

I would have ocme out of retirement for £500,000. In fact I would come out of retirement for a humble £100,000 (and share of profits and my own bench in the shed).

I am a bargain.

Lulumama · 07/03/2008 17:10

she is worth £500 000 of governemnt money!

my new HV is so fab, i shall miss her when DD starts school

mmmMomma · 07/03/2008 17:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn