How to find a Private Health Visitor
MY HEALTH VISITOR has been set up to promote the
development of a network of private Health Visitors operating across the
United Kingdom.
This will take time to come about so, if you are a parent seeking a private health visiting service, please look out for updates on this website about the geographic coverage of MY HEALTH VISITOR. If you would like information about private Health Visitors operating in your area please contact MY HEALTH VISITOR.
All the Health Visitors on the MY HEALTH VISITOR database have:
- Up-to-date professional registration to practice as a Health Visitor.
- Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance.
- They have also signed up to the principles and ethical standards of MY HEALTH VISITOR (see “MY HEALTH VISITOR principles”).
By developing a close long-term relationship with their clients, a private Health Visitor can become a key person in supporting the health and wellbeing of the whole family.
Health Visitors can be a wonderful source of information and advice acquired from their comprehensive training and broad experience. This information and advice is available to parents in their home or alternatively at child health clinics. Private Health Visitors may also provide an “out-of-hours” service extending into weekday evenings and Saturdays. This can be very helpful for working parents who have difficulty with a service that is available only during the working day.
Specific aspects where private Health Visitors can help and support families include:
- Aspects relating to the health of a baby, for example feeding (encouraging breast feeding when practical), sleeping, behaviour, general development, immunisations, teething and anything else specifically related to a child’s needs and development.
- Helping support the health and wellbeing of Mum and Dad too, by monitoring for post natal depression and the many stresses and strains involved in bringing up a young family.
- Helping parents to organise the balance between their family and working lives. Looking after a family also includes looking after ourselves as individuals.
What services do private Health Visitors offer?
Private Health Visitors who are on the database of MY HEALTH VISITOR offer comprehensive private Health Visiting with a full range of services for families with children up to 5 years old. Some of these services are not routinely provided within the National Health Service. Parents will need to discuss with their own private Health Visitor precisely what services are offered but, in summary, these will include:
- Antenatal workshops.
- Individual personal antenatal visits.
- Weekly home visits between two and eight weeks after birth (which can be extended by mutual agreement).
- Postnatal depression assessment in the client’s own home.
- 8 month and 18 month developmental checks.
- Pre-booked appointments at clinics with client friendly times including, by arrangement with many private Health Visitors, Saturdays and early evenings.
- Home visits on request (these can be shared between more than one family), which are available during the day or early evening or on Saturdays by arrangement.
- Email and telephone contact with a named Health Visitor for all regular clients.
- As far as possible private Health Visitors provide continuity of a particular Health Visitor over time, enabling the parents to build a close relationship with someone who can get to know them and their family.