To have found the health visitor visit more like a social worker visit?

[Piffling]

I was reflecting earlier, my local hv team was very poor for my previous dc... In a fluffy useless way though (some are wonderful, I'm just referring to the culture at my local team).

Last week for new dd though the visit felt more like a check up/ risk assessment? Is this the norm now?

Lots of questions with " after baby p I must ask..." " illicit drugs?" ... Binge drink? .... Dv? How's dad? What time does he work? Who helps you on bad days? Plus a in depth questions of other dd's medical appointments (Sn). Even a " physical check" of baby including enquiring about bruising ( none!).

Is this odd? It had such a different tone, I sat there quite bemused after a while. I'm a teacher and cp lead so maybe I recognise questions more so, but it felt like a sw risk assessment.

Whilst I'm not a fan of local hv I've had no negative interaction, bar suggesting I just pop into clinic this time. We're boringly normal in general. There's no further meetings, baby clinic services are decimated, no support, it just seemed like a quite full on check for child protection.

Was it a slightly odd hv I met? Or is this a change others have seen? Last time it was more a chat about feeding etc.

Sounds like standard information / assessments they have to do but that she didn't have much tact in how she obtained the information. There's a skill to phrasing questions a certain way and obtaining information without openly asking these (I have to do it as part of my job everyday!). The illicit substances questions sounds like a safe sleeping checklist that I often have to complete with new parents (identifies any potential risks to sids) but I warn them at the beginning that the questions are blunt and to the point x

I'm not surprised that they now have to do this.

Think of all the recent horrific cases of child neglect and murder. All invariably had contact with various HCPs and yet opportunities to step in were missed. Endless serious case reviews ending with "lessons will be learned".

I know it feels shit to have someone checking your baby for bruises, but it's their job now. It's nothing personal.

How many drug users/alcoholics etc are really going to admit to it? It may get boxes ticked but does it really protect the child when the parents can just give the answer they know the hv needs to hear.

It's the same as the pnd question sheet it's not very hard to lie and give the correct answers.

Same as if you don't want the hv to see your home for whatever reason you just book to do it at the doctors, unless they see abuse/neglect it's still a pretty pointless exercise to do all these box ticking exercises with every new parent/parent having another child.

Piffling - you are very patient to be still doing the HV thing with baby number 5. I stopped doing them after baby No.2 . I reckoned they have enough on their plate dealing with families who need the support and they just pissed me off TBH.

I didn't really need them to tell me that my baby was the wrong height or weight ( mine always were ) and I had one who constantly hinted that I should stop BF.

The thing is no one is going to answer positively to any of those questions so they are asked but don't protect children anymore.
You could even argue that, bar the physical check of the child for bruises, it would actually protect children LESS as mothers will be less likely to mention any problem at all, incl PND.

So a nice paperwork exercise that will protect children less. Way to go.

I have our pre birth meeting tomorrow, I was looking forward to it. Not so much now! With dd I found the midwives a bit lacking after the birth, but my HV was amazing and really installed confidence into me. Shes retired now so no chance of having her now.

Although I'm confident enough to let it wah over me this time I hope!

I would imagine the HV will be using other assessment skills and not just totally be reliant on the questionnaire.

They will be taking into account the history, medical info and midwifery info.

Certainly in the area I live in all HV contacts are at home.

It's nothing new when I in paediatrics 20 years ago the Hv role was very much focused on vulnerable families and child protection-believe me they really don't want to be visiting the worried well either.They are under significant pressures.

When ds2 (now 5) was born, the HV did a fairly thorough 'environment' ticklist. She left telling us that we must get the broken spindle at the bottom of the stairs replaced, that the bathroom tiles didn't feel like non-slip so could do with looking at, and it seemed like the front step was a bit loose and could we get it cemented ASAP .

She gave us a lecture about the importance of providing a safe environment for the dc and made me feel like we were living in some kind of slum.

I was quite paranoid about it because it was so weird and what I imagine SS involvement may be like...but then a friend had a baby a few weeks later and had exactly the same.

I got asked all of those 20 years ago. Reasonably deprived area. Fury hv wonderful, a wee scots lassie. Second, well, words fail.

I didn't mind those questions, it was the uselessness of the hv when I had a regularly v poorly baby that got me. Ok it was a pfb but to say it's normal that a baby has a fever of over 40 every 19 days is more than bizarre.

Not bitter that DS's childhood was made miserable and nearly died , oh no,

Only the first hv appointment is in the home where I live in fact the hv team seem very put out if you ask for a home visit rather than going to the local surgery.

Thing is even looking at more than a question sheet, clean the house for the visit, make sure you look well kept. Just because they can view medical history (although none have ever asked my permission to view my personal medical files ) how many people again will go to the doctors because they drink a bottle of wine every night/use drugs/have self harmed/are victims of dv?

It all requires us all to be honest and report every inch of our lives to get a full picture. A 30 minute tops appointment every so often isn't going to help anyone apart from those who don't care who knows how much they abuse/neglect their children and make women with possible pnd too scared to say anything.

Sounds like a poor HV really.

Using Baby P is just lazy explanation. It's not because of baby P they are asking. It's because the questions are part of their job.

The HV who mentions DV in front of others needs retraining.

Those who decline services and still have them turning up complain!

Never used HVs and, reading this thread, I am glad I didn't.

I have 2 younger children a 2 year old who's sn and ds whos 1 on 23rd this month. My 2 year old hasn't been seen since he was 8 month old. She phoned up the other day after she got his first sn report stating she need to visit and for some reason he had been deregistered early. My nearly one year old is still waiting for his 8 month check so for they have arranged and cancelled this 4 times she's due to come do it Tuesday let's see if it get cancelled 15 minutes before again.

Also all checks by his are now done at our home. You can go baby clinic but that's for weighing. I am on the border of 2 different areas my home visit are run by in HV team but my nearest baby clinics are run by a different HV team. I don't use the baby clinics as I hate to have to many professionals involved that's when things get crossed and muddled.

Ds2 is 3 weeks and we had the HV a week or so ago. Much better than DS1 4 years ago, just a nicer and more personable person, and much more professional.

It does irritate me that I'm asked the same questions at booking appointment with MW and then by HV - it seems inefficient, unless they think I took up smoking while pregnant. Still, I expect to be dropped like a stone as I was with DS1. We are extremely dull.

I have very much enjoyed my correspondence from them. I wonder if they have a new and/or useless admin person.

I had one addressed to my parent/carer, noting that I was due to give birth soon and explaining their services. Then one addressed to me last Friday, congratulating me on my pregnancy and impending birth, and asking if I'd like a pre-birth visit. But bloody late, HV had been to see the baby...

about what was said up thread about being doorstepped twice since refusing the free 15 hours? it is considered a "concern" apparently according to my hv as i was fuming the social worker was banging on about the fact i wasn't using my free 15 hours and she told me then its concerning if a parent doesn't want their child in nursery so they can have a break i pointed out i wanted to actually spend time with MY CHILD how is that a crime? the question was flung at me well they think you're hiding something because of it! so now i end up spending £20 a week using my free hours and everyone but me and ds is happy about it

ive only ever had one good health visitor she has unfortunately retired she was concerned about DV in my house so she dropped in when dh was out to speak to me she was very supportive of me

I used to work as a child protection social worker but not for a while. Last year, I attended a conference about parental mental health. I was stunned at the self importance of the HVs (about 30 of them) who attended. They really did get on their high horses about wanting access to information that they didn't need and it was obvious that they saw themselves as social workers 'lite;. It's a shame because they have a vital role in supporting parents to stop them even crossing a SW's radar, especially when parents are struggling to cope.

I do find the "illicit drugs" and "binge drinking" questions odd. How many people would admit it?

(Sorry if the above doesn't make sense in terms of sentence structure and grammar. I'm drugged up on painkillers. Hope you get the general gist!)

I understand Shirtsleeves - the HVs I work with also have a massive sense of self importance. They are not social workers but like to act like they are. They insist that safeguarding is their role. I understood safeguarding is everyones responsibility.

What on earth is a pre birth visit? (Or are people referring to a midwife appt?) Haven't heard a peep from my HV since DS's heel prick test and he's now nearly 16 months.

My HV was good but she insisted on coming every week because I'm a single mother with a history of depression. It annoyed me, I knew where she was if I needed her, I didn't need to be checked up on like a child

moomin they see you when you're 36 weeks pregnant and ask you random questions

Your hv gave a bad explanation for why she was doing the checks. However, I would rather get questionned thoroughly knowing I have nothing to hide rather than them not doing their jobs and there being more at risk children/struggling families without support.