30th January 2023
On Wednesday 25 January, Channel 5 national news broadcasted a health visiting feature based on the recent iHV State of Health Visiting in the UK report – this is now available to view on You Tube. The news story highlighted the positive difference that health visitors’ support makes to families, as well as the current challenges that the profession is facing to meet the scale of need. The news piece featured statistics from our survey including soaring rates of poverty, mental health problems and domestic abuse.
The iHV was delighted that Channel 5 news shone a spotlight on these issues and the wider impacts of poverty on families. Bromley Healthcare kindly enabled on location filming with Channel 5, where Jess Davidson, health visitor was home visiting Meera and her family for their 6–8-week review.
Jess gave an exclusive interview where she explained how she ‘loves her job, but the challenges in health visiting are growing’. Jess provided examples of how the cost-of-living crisis and cuts in funding for health visitors are impacting on families.
Meera, who has 3 children under the age of four said she would have been lost without her health visitor’s help.
Alison Morton was also interviewed, and highlighted how worried health visitors are about the current situation, highlighting the impact of families’ stress on babies, children, and families.
The iHV would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Meera and her family for generously sharing their story about the difference that their health visitor, Jess, made to her family. We would also like to thank Bromley Healthcare for their support in raising the profile of health visiting – this news story would not have been possible without their help. In particular, we would like to say a ‘huge thank you’ to Jess Davidson (health visitor) for sharing her own experiences – you did health visitors proud!
