27th October 2015
A group of health visitors from Coventry went to Shumen and Sliven in Bulgaria to support a UNICEF project to recruit, train and develop 2 teams of home visiting nurses – HVeCOP went too!
The teams have very little training, other than their general nursing or midwifery training, before they start to visit families and tackle the impact of them living in the poorest country in the EU.
Without the support of PHCTs and social care partners, the nurses experience professional isolation and lack of value from the healthcare system for their service.
During their visit, the health visitors supported training on the science of baby brain development, early child development, and the role of the health visitor in improving outcomes for children and families. They also joined the nurses on home visits.
Before we left we spent an evening learning Bulgarian dancing and enjoying a meal together.
One of the families visited whilst in Bulgaria.
Learning about HCP and increasing breastfeeding rates in Bulgaria
