Can I opt Out of Having a Health Visitor?

[FutureMummmmmmyx]

Is having a health visitor a legal requirement? Can you tell them you don't wish to have one? And if so, Has anyone done this?

Often they give good advice. DD was a little constipated. My HV said that the official advice was to give a little watered down orange juice. But then added she wasn't allowed to recommend the little bit of brown sugar in water that she had been recommending for 20 years and was fairly effective as it hadn't been properly tested.

The brown sugar worked a treat

I opted out when I had DC2, I signed a letter stating I didn't need their assistance - simple as that.

I arranged all vaccinations and health checks directly with my Drs surgery.

I was told of i didnt want a home visit as not going to stay at home would be fine but would have to take little one to hospital to be checked and seen.

"I know i'm just going to get more replies questioning me, but my question was if they were optional, and I got my answer so I wont be addressing why I don't want one as thats not really anyone elses business." very defensive there OP. You're right it's nobody's business, but if you take that attitude with the health professionals then it may well raise red flags for them.

Of course there are good and bad health visitors just like there is good and bad in every other profession, however you're not going to know that until you meet them, and as a first time parent you really have no idea whether or not you might find them useful.

I had very little input from my HV - she came round once, and I went to the weighing clinics after that, arranged all my own vaccinations etc, the surgery also had a nursery nurse who was far more involved and hands-on than the HV anyway. The only intrusive involvement I had was when a new HV came into the area and rang me to say that she thought she should visit me since I was blind and she needed to know I was coping. DS was three at the time. I asked very bluntly whether she was visiting all the new mums in her area or whether me having a disability should somehow single me out and if so, why, since I'd never had any involvement with services before. She couldn't answer me. I let her come round to satisfy her curiosity and she went on her merry way never to be seen again.

I would wonder whether someone who has no experience of being a parent yet Was opting out of HV involvement because they didn't want to engage with medical services for their child, would perhaps also be opting out of vaccinations etc based on what they think they know about the process....

I can't remember the last time I saw my hv. I spoke to them on the phone sometime last year after dd2 had an accident which resulted in a trip to minor injuries for the second time within a few month period but they haven't been round and I haven't taken dd2 to weigh in since she was tiny.

It's not like they smother you with visits and appointments. I very rarely speak to mine but at least I know they are there if there are any problems.

I had my first visit from a health visitor this afternoon for my second child. She tested his ears and we had a chat and that was it. She offered to come again next week to weigh him and I accepted but that was completely optional. I will then go to clinic until the 1 and 2 year checks. I feel reassured to check weight and there could be things that they notice that I don't.

The health visitor service is stretched and there are clearly some bad ones out there but the weights and info is valuable to me.

I opted out at 2 weeks as the HV I was issued was improperly trained. I raised it with the head of service who investigated & found my series of events to be correct. That HV was retrained and later dismissed for still giving incorrect advice.

When I have no2 I will be opting out from day 1. I understand that not all HVs are the same but my trust in the profession is now non existent.

if you refuse, are you able to use their service as your child gets older?
I didn't really need one when my baby was born as he already knew all the rules, but since he got towards toddler years he had a separate issue. The HVs have been brilliant at helping us, much better than my GP!

Ugh, some of these replies - "red flag", "something to hide". Don't be fucking ridiculous. Engaging with HVs is voluntary. If you don't want to, it's nobody's business but yours.

FWIW, I didn't want to see a health visitor when I had my DD. My GP surgery messed me around when I was pregnant & I lost all trust in the local health services.

My daughter had all be necessary checks, jabs etc, but she had them when & where I chose to. And no one set foot in my house.

You can but you'd be silly too. They'll wonder why you won't let anyone in your house and it'll cause a red flag, because lets be honest 99% of people who refuse a health visitor, have something to hide. They aren't that much of a pain so why would you make a fuss over nothing

It may be worth mentioning also that health visitors are really well trained to spot and help with pnd- I received a massive amount of support through the hv team and not my gp. If this is your first child I would just reserve judgement until they are born as you really don't know how difficult you're going to find everything and its worth leaving the option of extra support open.

It's also worth noting that HVs are qualified nurses and midwives who have done extra training. Most HVs these days have a degree in public health and are also qualified nurse prescribers.

They also receive training on issues such as drug and alcohol misuse, domestic violence, mental health, child protection, as well as everything else you'd expect such as breastfeeding, minor childhood illness, child development, and behaviour management.

I’ve had health visitors with all of my children, good and bad ones but I’ve just had my 5th and last child and really don’t see the point. It is completely optional and yep you can opt out. There should be absolutely no safe guarding concerns in opting out. This is the same health visitor I had with our 4th child though and she is only 21 months at the moment. I home educate 2 of our children both autistic 11 and 8 and she was refreshingly positive about it all. She is the first nice one I have had so happy to see her again this time. It’s badically an opt out service so there should be no issues with opting out at all. I only learned you could do this recently always assumed it was compulsory.

I don't know the details about opting out. In Scotland your health visitor is your child's named person so I assume they'd have to get you a new "named person" until the child was 5.

I agree that you often only hear the bad stories and would be hesitant about opting out of a service that you don't have any experience of before you've even had the baby. Mine for Dd2 has been really helpful in offering breast feeding advice and managed to refer me very quickly to the feeding clinic at the hospital when I developed Reynauds as a result of post natal medication I was on. The referral through the GP typically took a few weeks, but Hv knew the midwife running the clinic and managed to get my name on the list asap! I've also heard friends say that they've been helpful in recognising pnd/anxiety signs.

Should have read the dates in the OP. Oops!