About our Health Visiting Service

Well-Baby and Drop-In Services

Your local Health Visitor Clinics are now running 2-3 times a week in your area.  Your Health Visitor can prescribe medications for eczema and oral/napkin thrush plus more and is there to answer any questions about your child's health, growth, feeding and development.

Please book on via the clinic number and always remember - never attend a clinic setting with any COVID symptoms.

REMEMBER

In an emergency always call 999

If you're child is unwell then please see your GP / Out of Hour / Walk-in Centre - Do not attend A&E unless it is an emergency.

Unable to see your Dr and need urgent or out of hours advice call 111

The Health Visiting Team is made up of:

• Health Visitors (qualified nurses/midwives who have completed additional specialist training in public health nursing.) 
• Community Staff Nurses
• Community Nursery Nurses
• Support Workers and Admin Staff

We offer support to all families before and after the birth of their baby and up to when their child starts school as part of the National Healthy Child Programme.  

We provide advice, information and support to help families and children make decisions that improve their future health and well-being.  A transition to the School Nursing service  takes place on entry to reception to ensure continuity and ongoing support where needed.

Health Visiting Service Ashton, Wigan & Leigh Facebook Page

The Health Visiting Service offer is available to all children and families, including children with additional health needs.

We provide advice, information and support to families and children and help parents make decisions that improve their family’s future health and well-being.

You can access more information about the Wigan Local Offer here.

Wigan Parent Carer Forum Summer Newsletter  is now available with news and information for parent, carers of children with SEND. 

Your Health Visitor will arrange to come and see mum, partner and your new baby between 10-14 days after the birth of your baby.  It is easy to think that dad’s or partners might not be needed at this visit but you are a vital support to both mother and new born so please make every effort to attend.

At this visit your Health Visitor will be able to support you as a family with information on feeding issues, safe sleep and baby development.  Your Health Visitor will share New Born Behaviour Observations tools with you as a key way to help you understand how your baby communicates, build relationships with the wider family as well as parent/s or carer/s.

In addition to your baby’s needs your Health Visitor is there to support both parents with any issues around maternal health post-delivery, contraception advice and can signpost you to maternity/paternity advice, support for relationship problems and practical advice on benefits and housing. 

Your Health Visitor can direct you to groups and services that can support you so use their expertise to help you on your parenting journey.

For more useful websites view our useful links section.

Have you thought about Contraception?

Your fertility and risk of a further pregnancy is very high following birth and you should consider appropriate contraceptive options.  Discuss with your health professional or call Spectrum Sexual Health service on 01942 483 188.

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Having a baby is life-changing for new mums and their partners and whilst it can bring a great deal of excitement and joy into their lives it can also bring additional pressures.  These can be in the relationship, in a person’s finances and also in their emotional well-being. 

Your Health Visitor has had specialist training and can help you to explore your feelings if you have any anxiety or low mood and can undertake an assessment looking at Post Natal Depression with you.

In addition to listening support Health Visitors can make referrals to a wide range of services on your behalf requesting specialist support from you GP, Counselling support, Dad’s groups and Support groups for example. 

We understand that it can be difficult to open up at first but it can be helpful to know you are not alone and that there is support to help you.

Here are some useful leaflets and websites providing more information and support.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority NHS:  Guide to Pregnancy, Family and Mental Health  Wigan

Institute for Health Visiting

Family Welfare Peri-natal Counselling  

Support for Dad’s

Spectrum Sexual Health Service

Leaflet: CM 172 Pregnancy & Postnatal Mental Health v2

Perinatal Wellbeing Course. This course has been designed for any parent or caregiver in the perinatal period who wants to better understand their thoughts and feelings and learn ways to manage daily stress, anxiety and periods of low mood. The course consists of 6 weekly sessions, each session lasting between 1.5 and 2 hours. Telephone referrals can be made 01942 764449 or self-refer online at www.gmmh.nhs.uk/think-wellbeing  For more information check out the leaflet /media/GMMH325%20Think%20Wellbeing%20Perinatal%20Course%20Leaflet%20(0.3)%20pCopy.pdf

Your second Health Visitor appointment will be offered to you when your baby is between 6-8 weeks old.  This appointment can be at your home, clinic or over the telephone.  In addition to reviewing your baby’s health and development it is also an opportunity for you to have a chat about how you are feeling physically and emotionally. 

Don’t underestimate the changes you and your family will be experiencing.  If you or your partner are experiencing low mood, loss of interest in things and increased anxiety it’s important to talk to us.

We have some useful websites that can give you more information.   

We will write to you when your baby is around 3-4 months old with additional support to help you prepare for introducing solids.  Check out our Infant Feeding section for more information.

When your baby is 9-12 months old you will be offered a Health Review undertaken by your Health Visitor, Community Nurse or Community Nursery Nurse attached to the Health Visiting Team.  They will send you a questionnaire called Ages and Stages. This will help you to capture how your baby is developing, check immunisations are up to date and support you with any issues or concerns that you may have.  Having the completed questionnaire and your babies Red Book with you for the appointment really helps you get the most from this meeting. 

Immunisation up to one year leaflet - now available translated into 33 community languages 

This leaflet is available to download in the languages below. (UK HSA health publications)

English, Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese(Simplified), Chinese(Traditional, Cantonese, Estonian, Dari, French, Farsi, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Panjabi, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, 

Romanian, Romany, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Yiddish, and Yoruba.

We also have some useful websites that can support you with introducing solids and sleep routines and some really important safety advice for using car seats and baby safety.

At 2-2.5 years of age your Health Visitor, Community Nurse or Nursery Nurse will contact you to arrange a further review.  Prior to the meeting you will be asked to complete your child’s next Ages and Stages questionnaire.  We have Community Nursery Nurses linked to each Nursery.   If your child attends Nursery they can liaise directly and may offer a joint or ‘integrated’ review with yourself, the key worker from your child’s Nursery and a member of the Health Visiting Team together.

This review is your opportunity to track your child’s physical, learning and emotional development but it is also an opportunity for parents to discuss their support needs too. 

This is a time of rapid change for your toddler and we are here to give you support and advice on a wide range of issues such as routines around sleep, toileting, healthy eating, immunisations as well as managing behaviour, child care funding and getting ready for school!  Your child minder or Nursery can support you too.

Check out the sections on toileting and sleep routines for some useful information.

Your sleep routine changes even before your baby arrives particularly in the last trimester when getting comfortable at night might be a bit of a challenge.  You may even notice that your baby is active more when you yourself settle down in the evening.

From the first days with your baby through to toddler and teenager – sleep plays a key part in their mood, behaviour and development and yours! 

Getting information, advice and support to help you manage the changes that lie ahead will help you and your family.  Speak to your Health Visitor and check out some of the useful websites in our useful links section for more information on sleep, routines and keeping your baby safe through the night.

Safer Sleep Week 2023  from the Lullaby Trust

Here are some useful resources from the Lullaby Trust  that you may find useful.

Lullaby Trust Safer Sleep - Emergency Situations

Lullaby Trust Safer Sleep -  Safer sleep in Winter

Lullaby Trust Fact Sheet - Easy Read Things you can do

Lullaby Trust  Fact Sheet - Safer Sleep - Temperature

Here are some useful videos that demonstrate the importance for all parents or carers to follow the safe sleep guidance.

There are exciting developments underway watch this space!

There is more information on all aspects of infant feeding and healthy eating below and in the useful links section or contact your health visitor.

BLISS  - Weaning guide for Babies Born Premature or Sick

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Talking and listening to your baby is vital.

Before they arrive babies are able to recognise the voices of their carer’s and will quickly learn to respond to the voices of those around them. 

Parents are their first teacher.  They are learning words, tones of voice, songs and stories and how to speak and socialise with others from you.

Unlike watching TV, when you talk to your baby you provide important eye contact which not only supports bonding but helps with social interactions and confidence later in life. 

Encourage speech by limiting baby’s use of a pacifier (dummy), by singing and reading to them, talk about every-day things.   Ask your Health Visitor about the free Bookstart pack and to discuss any issues or concerns you might have.

You can find lots of activities and ideas to support children’s communication, speech and language through the BBC’s Tiny Happy People site.

Check out the NSPCC Look Say and Sing Resources too.

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Health Visitors work closely with a wide range of professionals to help improve the lives of children and young people in the Wigan Borough.

Where identified, Health Visitors can contribute to the safeguarding of children and young people through:

• Safeguarding pre-discharge meetings
• Attending Initial Case Conferences, Review meetings & Core Groups
• Child in Need meetings
• Meetings for vulnerable groups such as Looked After Children
• Provision of Health reports for Courts or Safeguarding meetings
• Follow up of missed health appointments or unmet health needs
• Review of children and young people’s A&E admissions