Released on: 10 May 2022
In response to the Why Health Visitors Matter report from the First 1001 Days movement, NCT's Senior Policy Adviser, Elizabeth Duff said:
"Health visitors can be a lifeline to families in the early days of parenthood. They can be a listening ear, offer practical help and advice and, crucially, help parents access more support when they need it the most. Their work can be life-changing as they help to lay foundations for life-long health.
"Despite their huge importance, we know health visiting services are underfunded and undervalued. At the very least, babies and toddlers are missing out on development reviews with huge variation in the level of service parents receive in different parts of the country. However, it is so much more than this. Health visitors provide a vital safety net, recognising challenges with mental health, feeding, safety and welfare that can have lifelong consequences for babies and families. The skilled, non-judgmental care that they provide can be key to protecting wellbeing and preventing issues becoming more serious in the longer term.
"We fully support the report's recommendations for a properly resourced health visiting service to give all families a high level of support at a particularly vulnerable time."
You can read the report here.
