Health Visiting Service

Report - 31 December 2015

We spoke to local families about their experiences of Health Visiting services. We asked them if they understood the role of the Health Visitor (HV) and the kind of service they should expect from them. Find out what they said.

I was really impressed with the support I got from the HV, they (and it was the same one) came to my house quite a few times
to weigh my twins. It made a big difference to me. I also used the HV team with questions about random baby health related
queries when I wasn't sure if I needed to see the GP. They usually gave me quite helpful advice but some were better than
others.

What we did

From 1st October 2015 the management of the Health Visiting Service transferred from the NHS to Local Authorities and Healthwatch Wandsworth wanted to give local families the opportunity to share their experiences to shape a service tailored to the needs of the local people.

To do this, we developed a questionnaire that asked questions about continuity (seeing the same Health Visitor each time), accessibility and overall satisfaction with the service.

A mixture of open and closed questions were used and the questionnaires were all answered by new mothers and fathers of a varying age.

This survey was distributed at outreach events and promoted on social media.

Key Findings

Many said they found the experience excellent, and many found the experience very good.
Some parents felt the experience was only fair or poor, which causes some concern and indicated there are areas for improvement in the Health Visiting Service.
There were many positive comments praising individuals involved in their child’s care although some raised concerns regarding record keeping and not having enough visits.

At the end of the questionnaire we asked parents whether there were any other comments they would like to give on the Health Visiting Service.

Many made positive comments about their individual experiences with individual Health Visitors and how approachable they were.
Some had helped parents when they felt they really needed it.
Some were disappointed with an impersonal service which gave general advice instead of the specific advice they needed from their Health Visitor.
Some were also concerned with Children Centre closures and hoped the remaining ones would continue to stay open.
There were concerns that the Health Visiting service, so important to them, was in danger of being reduced or cut altogether.