Health visitors

[hunkermunker]

Can I take a big gun and go and shoot lots of them? Please?

The HV role is supposed to be changing so that instead of just dealing with the under 5s we deal with the whole family from cradle to grave.
However, my role is still overwhelmingly with children under 5.

My training which was very academic (no wish to repeat it)focused very much on public health and working in partnership with other agencies etc. Personally I think it could have done with more emphasis on problems which are really relevant such as weaning, breastfeeding etc.

Our year group got just a 2 hour lecture on breastfeeding which was taught by the course leader and focused mainly on the anatomy and physiology of the breast. I'd like to have seen a much greater amount of time allocated to this topic and involvement of a breastfeeding supporter. As a midwife I had recieved masses of trainign in breastfeeding but most of the people in my year did not come from a midwifery background and what they recieved was well below adequate preparation for supporting new Mums with breastfeeding. Little surprise that some of you have had such crap advice. It's not all the fault of the training though - any practitioner is supposed to keep him/herself updated and there are routes for updating within the service. I go to our local midwifery unit for a breastfeeding workshop every year for example. It's all there for accessing if the HV wants it....but we come back to the original "why are some of them so crap" question........

Maybe they should have a 'refresher' course every few years to force them to keep on top of things!

I've had three hv's in 2.7 years and they have all been fab. There are 4 hv's in the town and they run clinic together which is a bit manic at times but at least if you don't like the advice of one you can speak to another.

But mine have supported me through depression, helped me set up parent and toddler group, listened when i've had concerns about not walking till 20 months, flat feet, speach delay, not wanting to be pregnant again when dd was only 5 months old.

So ireally can't complain

My friend is bogged down with the most horrendous awful child neglect/ social service involved families on her patch that she hardly has time for breast feeding advice or advising a 15 year old mother of 2 that it is actually quite important to feed your child more than once a week kind of over rides the sippy cup vs non spill cup debate with some people.
She works in a very deprived area. When i go to her with questions re behaviour etc she kind of looks bewildered that there are actually normal parents out there who are concerned about such things. She sees so little of parents like me.
I think that she does a superb job in very very difficult circumstances and i defend her role totally.

I quite like the idea of, when my child/ren are in school, training as a Hv (I already have my RN) and also doing BF counselling alongside. I feel that I could do a better job than some others and that is quite motivating!

Dondean. My mum has been in very similar situation, dealing with drug use, neglect etc. I always remember her telling me she visited a house where a two yr old had a scald from making her mum a cup of tea!

My HV is fantastic & has helped me loads over the past 2 years.

Do it flossam.

my Hv is fab, and gorgeous as well

flossam i will be training to be a HV when my children go to school (4 years yet) i have to do my nursing training yet tho.

My health visitor is..erm...not what i need. she was quite patronising wiuth my first and just plain has no clue now i have 2!! However, i told her what i need from her this time(yes i was that bolshy with her lol) and she is much better!!!

There are some really terrible ones out there and the reason i want to be a HV is so i can hunt them down and make them leave [evil grin icon]

In Ireland they are called district nurses. I had one wiht orange-pink hair, (not a punk, an older lady!) who was very put out that ds1 at 9 months was getting no formula, only breastmilk as it wasn't fortified with iron. I was advised to go out and buy some Milupa Forward straight away! More recently I got a lovely lady who was very pro-bf and mcuh more helpful.

can i mention (let off steam!!) its not just hv that can be useless....my midwife forgot to call round to see me for 3 days after i had DD...i kept ringing and ringing the clinic to remind them no-one had visted me, and that i was stuglling to b/f baby, the midwife phoned and said to me if that was my only problem there is no guarantee her visiting me will help DD to b/f because if she isn't hungry at them same time her appointment is to come over then there is little she could do to help..... i spent 2 days in hosp, by the time any1 came to see me at home DD was 5 days old and i had switched to formula because me and dh were panicking so badly about baby not getting enough milk i still get v upset about not b/fing, i wish i had heard of mumsnet 7 months ago when i had DD

sorry - its the wrong thread to mention that....but its upset me for ages and suddenly i just had to let off some steam!

ffred - complain loud, long and hard till you get an apology in writing. start in writing, with whoever employs your midwife and move up the chain of command till they apologize. i'm currently doing the same about my gp surgery - now ex- surgery. currently taking it to ombudsman. i want them to think long & hard about how they mis-treated me so they will get their act together for the next person.

have you seen the thread about lack of bf support?

ps you have 1 yr from incident to complain to ombudsman

OMG, fredd, thats dreadful! I always found you could get a newborn to feed anytime! Or worst case, if you made sure to leave 1.5 hours before the appointment withoout feeding your dd she'd have given it a go!

fredd,that's appalling and probably illegal!
Make a formal complaint.
I've said it once,and will say it again...H/Vs and M/Ws in North West Wales Health Trust are fabulous. Up to date and very pro breast feeding,call around at the drop of a hat,and always have time for a chat,discourage use of weird powders,purees and potions of all sorts,and make you feel like a queen for b/feeding (whilst also just as lovely to the bottlefeeders i hasten to add!)

Couldn't have had/have better care!

Fredd! So it isn't just little old me that these things happen to! I'm traumatised by the NHS as a whole!Theres not enough personal care and too many government guidelines! My doctor is useless and about 20 years behind the times, despite the fact she always seems to be on a sabbatical for training purposes. She believes lactose intolerance and allergies to milk proteins are made up conditions even with medical proof from other doctors tested on the blood of most males in my immediate and extended family! The health visiters say these conditions only run in ethnic minorities (as i'm white, what i'm telling them is medical blasphemy) and as for taking out the whooping cough injection! Well...Government say you can't do that now, even if your brother and your son (only 15 months younger than your daughter)reacted badly to it. My daughters had to go without any immunisations because of this and i'm terrified shes going to get tetanus one of these days. Most of the time when you see anyone medical, the first thing they ask (after 5 minutes of awkward silence) is; "So whats wrong with you then?" Theyre asking ME whats wrong?! Hello?! You tell me! I swear, I don't go to see anyone unless i've done research first! I'm not kidding! I've done that ever since one doctor nearly put me in a coma! (He did actually do this to another girl my mom knows who was in the same situation a few years later, but after it got to court, he was mysteriously cleared and is still at large)I've been in and out of hospitals all my life and I can tell you from the early nineties onwards standards have slipped dramatically. And after my last birth experience, don't even get me started on midwives!!! Needless to say, my kids no longer see health visiters. They only refer you to your doctor if youre really worried anyway!

our local HVs/child health nurses believe that there are developmental advantages to weaning at 5 months. They are well aware of the DOH guidelines about 6 months. But still have their own hobby horse that mums should be pushed to wean at latest 5 months.

My health visitors are OAPs and really havent kept up to date with basic things like nutrition. One advised my friend who was having problems getting her 1 yr old to drink milk to try putting chocolate in it!!!!

Shocking!!!!

MTS, ask your HVs for a copy of the latest weaning publication Here it is!

Just out of interest - what developmental advantages? Is it the old chestnut about babies not eating lumps if they don't get puree at four months (the logic there is truly startling...!)?

Dont shoot mine! She is brilliant (had just had a DS herself 9 months prior to me which helps i think).

When i struggled with B/f (Had thrush and mastitis and so had she). When i called up struggling she took time out of her family life (she was only officially part time) to come and see me.

Cannot complain at all. Had different HV with my first. She was a little antiquated but okay. Did say "Yuk" when i asked if i should mix EBM with the soya milk (DD had dairy allergy) she was prescribed because DD wouldnt take to it at first.

Really like my HV clinic - both HVs i have encountered are great! A huge help to me this time round.

hunker - I was too gobsmacked and angry to make either her or the child health nurse that spouted this one at a baby massage class clarify!

VTM, yours won't be shot. But she might find her workload increases significantly after the cull Am scaring myself now...!

MTS - I was a horror at my weaning talk from one of the clinic's HVs (one of the better ones, it has to be said!) - asked all kinds of awkward questions