To think that this text is not a replacement for a health visitor?

[CuteOrangeElephant]

I hope this picture is visible.

Health visiting in my area has been completely done away with to the point that there is not even a two year check.

Instead we get the occasional nugget of wisdom via text message, with no ability to reply.

AIBU to think that this is completely unacceptable and will eventually lead to children falling down the cracks?

It is true - you cannot be a health visitor unless you are a qualified midwife or nurse.

The person you saw was probably a nursery nurse - they often work alongside health visitors and do basic visits for things like weighing, filling in two year check questionnaires and then referring on to the HVs / associated paediatric community nurses / referring to a paediatrician if necessary.

This makes me so sad as a good HV can really make a difference. I wonder if the government is slowly trying to do away with health visitors because more children are in childcare, so are being tracked by childcare staff. Obviously this is just ‘passing the buck’ and I don’t think it’s right. It will lead to children falling through the cracks as obviously not all children are in formal childcare, especially when they are babies. I have no idea how many dc are in formal childcare and if this is the reason for the decline in HV, but it does kind of fit I think?

Ooh that's BAD! I didn't like my HV at all but they're there to look...with their eyes...and see if everything's ok.

Why are you still seeing a HV at 2 years? I haven’t seen one since the weigh in clinics.

I'm not sure. I found our HV useless. I found the 1 year (?) check a literal tick-box exercise that I could have done at home. When I raised a concern re development, it was batted away. We have the two year check coming up and I'm minded to cancel - frankly, I'd rather HVs concentrate on people who need the most help if they are stretched so thinly. Most of us don't need 1:1 advice on toilet training (or weaning, or sleep, or...) - between NHS online resources and sites like MN, the basics are covered imo.

I'm in West Yorkshire now but was in North Yorkshire until my daughter was 2, but we got HVs a couple of times to the house when she was a baby, then they said we could always contact them for further visits, plus we automatically got a letter for the 2-year check. She's only 3.5 now.

We declined the service after the year one check. Our HV was hopeless and didn't tell us anything we didn't already know or had been watching out for with regards to development.

Health visitors in Lincolnshire are on strike over the devaluation of their role. (financially and professionally). There are 25% less HVs since 2015 because of reorganisations and cuts.

unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2019/july/lincolnshire-health-visitors-striking-today-over-no-pay-rises-and-erosion-of-professional-standards/

For those saying they didn't tell you anything new, you're missing the point. Not everyone knows it all already, and it's these cases where a child might come to serious harm as a result of not having support.

Op where in Yorkshire? I’m in South Yorkshire DS is nearly 2 and I haven’t had a health visitor since he was 8 months when I lived in West Yorkshire! There is a baby weigh in clinic but only open 2 hours on a Tuesday Im at work so I haven’t ever been.

YANBU. The texts are fine as well as seeing an actual HV but not instead of. I get that some people don’t find their HV useful but others do, myself included. If it wasn’t for the 2 year check my son’s ASD wouldn’t have been picked up when it was. They really are vital for many people.

Our Health Visitor Service was excellent and were based at my gp practice where we could go weekly for advice/weighing etc but my children are now 22/20. Never felt judged, only ever received support and advice.
I don't know why anyone is surprised at the stripping away of services in this way. Tis the tory way.

That is shocking, and I think you are, sadly, right about babies. Although as they aren't mandatory and here the final one is at 6 weeks, I guess this happens anyway :( The drop in clinics here are pretty much the same, useless as they don't have time to give any advice, I asked a question about weaning a few months back and they said 'its not in their remit' anymore, but a lot of advice online is so contradictory.

For those saying they didn't tell you anything new, you're missing the point. Not everyone knows it all already, and it's these cases where a child might come to serious harm as a result of not having support.

But there must, surely, be a better way to find those people who need support than giving sub-standard service to every young parent in the country? The people not vaccinating, not attending one/two year checks, not bothering about toilet training or speech delay or whatever else are generally more likely to be the ones who'd benefit from intervention, and yet the way the service is delivered seems to have them slip through.

I don't think it works as is, sadly.

Why are you still seeing a HV at 2 years? I haven’t seen one since the weigh in clinics.

All children should be offered the two year check.

Admittedly we have seen much more of HVs than most, due to health issues with our twins, but these things should be on offer to all parents. Saying that parents can pick up on early signs of developmental delays themselves is not always true - I did with one of my twins but not the other because he was so advanced in some areas and so much further ahead than his twin. It was the 2 year check that really demonstrated that there was a big problem.

@EssentialHummus same for us. came in, took checklist out of bag. asked questions on list. complained for 20 minutes how hard her life is (pretty easy from what she said), told me to always give a bottle at night so that i can get mire sleep (child exclusively breastfed), went.
HV 2: encouraged woman with an older child with chickenpox to come into the weigh in session “its just chickenpox, they’ll get it anyway”
quite glad these 2 aren’t midwifes or nurses anymore I have to say...

Agree they are fantastic for families in need. If you don’t need them and know everything already what are you expecting them to do?

@Passthecherrycoke to not actively spread false facts and outdated advice. that’s all i expect from them

Well obviously that’s something you’d put a complaint in about- that’s not what HV are supposed to do

The people not vaccinating, not attending one/two year checks, not bothering about toilet training or speech delay or whatever else are generally more likely to be the ones who'd benefit from intervention, and yet the way the service is delivered seems to have them slip through.

This is rather offensive. I had my twins at 34 and am a very engaged and informed parent, very bothered about making sure vaccinations were done on time and speech delay etc but myself and my children have benefitted massively from HV involvement. The idea that only neglectful or generally shit or uninformed parents need HV input is nonsense.

Now that my boys are diagnosed with Asd and in nursery I see the blatantly obvious differences between the NT kids there and how my boys were at a younger age, but I didn’t have much frame of reference for babies and missed things that are now painfully obvious. They made referrals quickly to services we needed which meant faster diagnosis and access to help. It’s great if your checks revealed no issues, but that’s why they exist in the first place - to find the kids that do need extra help and offer early intervention. This leads to the best possible outcomes for those that need it, and reassurance for those who don’t.

I think they do try and have tiers of support? I found our HV service to be the right amount for me...I had the 'universal service'

I had one visit at a few days old where she introduced herself/gave me leaflets.
Then just went to baby weighing clinic about once a month on mat leave.
Then a letter inviting me for a 2 year check which I went to.

If I'd needed them more I could have phoned/asked for advice at the weigh in clinic.

Exactly Camomila. In our area there are four or five levels of support depending on the needs of the family, and this may change over time. The HV’s job is to assess for the level of support and ensure that parents can contact them easily if those needs change. All parents should have access to that. If they don’t then they should make a complaint. It’s important for all our children and for parents too.

I had a home visit for DS2, and while she was there raised my concerns about DS1's speech progress. They looked into it, was the low side of normal. A year later nursery and I flagged it up again and it had slipped sufficiently for intervention. Having them active in the community made it easier to get a paper trail started that got systems moving down the line. It is harder to go cold to an unknown organisation. I didn't use the weighing clinics because DS1 was monitored by the dieticians, and DS2 grew beautifully.

My community has lost its children's centre and weighing clinic. Yes, it's a naice suburb where most people are well-educated and most have private transport, but that doesn't apply to all and further exacerbates isolation and the difficulties of people already struggling.

That sounds pretty rubbish.

I guess for most children - the ones developing normally - the 2 yr check isn’t much more than a tick box exercise.

But there will be some children who aren’t developing normally, and some of those children could fall through the cracks or have delays in being referred to the right people as a result of missing these checks.

And the baby clinic with no HV! I can’t be the only mum who ever took her small baby to a baby clinic primarily because I was worried about something and wanted some advice from a HV.

I found my HV really helpful with both of my children. The first one was able to refer me to be seen at he hospital when my son was very sick but I had been left to cope by myself. She then also referred me to a counselling group for women with PND.
Second health visitor with second baby was amazing at supporting me through breast feeding.
Those who say 'the money would be better off spent elsewhere' have no idea how many families we would be letting down if we did away with HV.
Very sorry for you OP , having to cope with a baby without one.