The Healthy Child Programme for Brighton and Hove
Health Visiting
Health Visitors are qualified nurses or midwives who have completed additional training in specialist community public health. Your local health visiting teams also have staff nurses, community nursery nurses and administrators.
We will offer you a minimum of five contacts from late pregnancy through to a developmental assessment of your child when they are about two years old. These appointments may be offered as a video call or as a face to face appointment.
We understand the challenges of parenthood and can provide antenatal and postnatal support, giving you the tools and support to help your children thrive and reach their full potential. We assess health, growth, development and promoting healthy lifestyles.
Your Health Visiting offer:
Antenatal contact
You are expecting a baby, congratulations!
Your Health Visitor team will be in touch to offer you an antenatal contact when you are approaching the birth of your baby.
We would like to meet you and your partner talk to about what kind of support you will have after your baby is born.
We will ask about your pregnancy, you and your partners’ health and mental health and your experience of family.
We will give you information that will help you get ready for your baby, such as safer sleep, other safety advice and information about infant feeding.
You will also be sent or given your baby’s red book, which is a record for you to keep of their health, growth and development.
New birth visit
Congratulations on the arrival of your baby (or babies!)
We aim to visit you at home 10-14 days after your baby is born. It is similar to the antenatal contact, but also includes an assessment of your new baby which may include:
A feeding assessment and breastfeeding support if appropriate.
Providing health promotion information such as safer sleeping, coping with crying, immunisations, supporting infant wellbeing and more.
6-8 week review
The 6-8 week contact by the Health Visiting team is in addition to the medical review which is carried out by the GP.
Our focus is on supporting you to enjoy your new family and is an opportunity to further discuss topics such as infant feeding, sleep routines, your child’s development and vaccinations.
Family needs may have changed since the antenatal contact so these will be reviewed, particularly mental health, as some new mums, and also partners may suffer from post-natal depression.
First development review by 1 year (10-12 months)
When your child approaches their first birthday, we offer a routine development review.
It is a good opportunity to review your child/rens health and check their developmental milestones. We will send you a questionnaire, called the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (or ASQ) for you to fill in before the appointment. This will help us to see all of the new things your child is able to do.
We also reassess your family’s health and wellbeing, as this may have changed since the 6-8 week contact with us.
The Health Visiting team can offer advice to support positive parenting and promote parental wellbeing. We can also offer advice on subjects like sleep, accident prevention, oral health and healthy eating.
2nd development review age 2-2.5 years
This contact is offered when your child is between 2 and 2½ years of age and is another opportunity for the Health Visiting team to review your child’s health and development, and also to start preparing for school.
As with the 1 year review, we will send you a questionnaire before the appointment, which you can complete to tell us all the things your child can do. This helps us to give you the best advice to support your child.
Topics we discuss include toilet training, behaviour, sleep and oral health.
Family health will also be reviewed as this is the last routine contact for many parents/carers; however, you are welcome to contact the Health Visiting team for advice and support at any time until your child is 5. Some families may need additional support if their circumstances require it.
Extra support available
Families may also need support or guidance with issues regarding their children’s health and development at specific times. This may include:
- Infant feeding
- Diet
- Routines and boundaries
- Continence
- Sleep
- Speech
- Parenting support
- Mental health
The service provided to each family will vary according to a personalised assessment of their own needs and evidence of what will work for them. If you feel you would benefit from additional support please contact your local duty line to speak to a member of the team.
UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative
The UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative enables services to better support families with feeding and developing close and loving relationships so that all babies get the best possible start in life.
We are committed to achieving and maintaining Unicef Baby Friendly Accreditation in Brighton and Hove.
In the UK, the Baby Friendly Initiative protects, promotes, and supports breastfeeding to strengthen mother-baby and family relationships. Support for these relationships is important for all babies, not only those who are breastfed.
This service enables our health visiting teams to:
- Support pregnant women to recognise the importance of breastfeeding and early relationships for the health and wellbeing of their baby
- Enable mothers to continue breastfeeding for as long as they wish
- Support mothers to make informed decisions regarding the introduction of food or fluids other than breastmilk
- Support parents to have a close and loving relationship with their baby.
Brighton and Hove
We are excited to have started the journey to achieve Baby-Friendly award. See the Specialist Infant Feeding Team (sussexcommunity.nhs.uk) website for more information.
MILK!
MILK! drop-ins run by our experienced infant feeding advisors and peer supporters are welcoming sessions available across the counties where you can come along and meet with other parents and carers and to access breastfeeding support and answers to your questions or concerns regarding breast or mixed feeding.
Information regarding your local MILK drop-in and the Infant Feeding Team is available at:
Brighton and Hove: Specialist Infant Feeding Team (sussexcommunity.nhs.uk)
Contacting your Health Visitor Team
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust runs a confidential secure text messaging service for parents of children aged 0-5 years called ParentLine. The service operates Monday to Friday between 9.30am to 4.30pm in Brighton and Hove, excluding bank holidays. All texts will be responded to by a health visitor within 24 hours. Outside of the service working hours, you’ll receive a message back to inform you that your text will be responded to once the line reopens.
Text: 07507 331296
You can also call our health visitor advice line on: 01273 266000
Alternatively email the Brighton and Hove health visiting team at: [email protected]
Further information available at: Health for Under 5s | For healthy, happy early years
Should you require urgent health advice in the meantime, please contact your GP, visit an NHS walk-in centre or call NHS 111. For emergencies, dial 999 or visit A&E.
School Nursing
School Nurses are qualified nurses or midwives who have completed additional training to become specialists in supporting community public health. Your local School Nurse team also includes School Staff Nurses, a Community Nursery Nurse as well as School Screeners and Administrators.
Your local School Nurse Team offers:
Screening in school for hearing and vision in Reception class
Measuring children’s height and weight in Reception class and year 6 of primary school.
Health questionnaires in school – for parents and carers to complete for children who are in Reception class, and for Year 7 students to complete when they get to secondary school.
If a parent or carer has concerns for the general health of their school aged child, they can make contact with the School Nurse team for advice, support and onward signposting and referrals when necessary.
With parent/carer consent, Schools can refer children to the School Nurse team for support.
Contacting your local School Nurse Team
School Nurse team duty telephone line: 01273 696011 extension 1692
School Nurse team email: [email protected]
The School Nurse team manages a secure text messaging service for young people aged between 11 and 19 years old called ChatHealth.
The ChatHealth text number is: 07480 635423
ChatHealth operates Monday to Friday between 9am to 4:30pm, excluding bank holidays. All texts are reviewed and responded to by a School Nurse.
Outside of ChatHealth operating hours, young people will receive a message back to inform that their text will be responded to once the line reopens.
Further general health information for parents, carers, children and young people is available at:
Health for Kids: https://www.healthforkids.co.uk/
Health for Teens: Health For Teens | Everything you wanted to know about health
Should you require urgent health advice please contact your GP, visit an NHS walk-in centre or call NHS 111. For emergencies, dial 999 or visit your nearest Emergency Department.