Institute launches latest Annual Report and announces three new Honorary Fellows

Yesterday evening, senior health visiting leaders, practitioners, iHV Fellows, and partners from across the sector gathered in London for the iHV Leadership Annual Event. We were delighted to be able to meet together, to celebrate our shared achievements over the last year, and thank individuals and organisations who have contributed to so many of our workstreams this year. It really has been a team effort!

iHV CEO, Alison Morton, welcomes guests to the iHV Annual Event 2023

The Annual Presentation was given by Dr Sarah McMullen, Associate Director of Research and Policy at The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, who provided an update on the work of The Centre and their ‘Shaping Us’ campaign. It has been our privilege and pleasure to work with The Centre on numerous projects this year including a research study focused on the use of the ADBB tool to support health visitors’ work in infant mental health, arranging health visiting shadowing visits for Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, and supporting the production of The Centre’s short film on health visiting and their wider ‘Shaping Us’ campaign.

Dr Sarah McMullen, Associate Director of Research and Policy at The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, delivers the iHV Annual Presentation

iHV Annual Report

At the Annual Event, the Institute launched its latest Annual Report, detailing the progress and many highlights of the iHV over the last year. Thanks to the support of our members, and the generosity of our grant funders, partners and parents who are experts by experience, we have been able to increase our policy influence and deliver more education, training, resources, networking opportunities, and research than ever before! We have also supported quality improvements in practice through our projects and programmes, including leadership development and sector-led improvement work.

Alison Morton, CEO of the Institute of Health Visiting, commented:

“I am absolutely delighted to share our latest annual report. This is packed full of the Institute’s achievements over the last year. None of these would have been possible without the support of our members, partners, trustees and the incredible #TeamiHV. I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make the Institute the organisation it is today. Together, we will continue to work hard to build a strengthened health visiting profession to ensure that all babies, children and families are supported to achieve the very best health now and into the future.”

Honorary Fellows

Every year, the iHV Board of Trustees bestows Honorary Fellowship awards at its annual event. We were delighted to award this year’s Honorary Fellowships to Professor Jane Barlow, Pamela Goldberg OBE, and Jane Williams. The awards, in recognition of their encouragement and continued support of both the iHV and the health visiting profession, mark the high esteem in which they are held by the Institute’s board.

Professor Jane Barlow’s Honorary Fellowship is awarded in recognition of her ongoing support for our work over many years. Jane is a staunch and vocal advocate for early intervention – and a champion of health visiting – and has worked tirelessly with us at the iHV on numerous shared projects, including our current research partnership with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. We are particularly grateful for Jane’s ongoing contributions to our work in perinatal and infant mental health and her weight of support for our call for more Specialist health visitors in this field. Unfortunately, Jane was not able to join us during the evening to collect her Honorary Fellowship due to travel disruptions.

The iHV awarded two Honorary Fellow awards to individuals who have served the iHV generously through their tenures on our Board as iHV trustees. At the iHV, we want to thank all our Trustees for the time, commitment and effort they bring to our organisation.

The first of these awards was conferred to Pamela Goldberg OBE who was the Chair of the iHV Board for 7 years, until her tenure came to an end in July this year. Prior to joining the iHV, Pamela had a distinguished career in both the commercial and voluntary sector, latterly as CEO of Breast Cancer Campaign. This wealth of experience was so valuable to our organisation which was only a few years old when Pamela joined as its Chair. During Pamela’s two terms at the helm of the iHV, the organisation has grown considerably into the successful organisation that it is today. Pamela has also overseen considerable change, with a new CEO and ways of working during the pandemic.

Pamela Goldberg OBE receiving her Honorary Fellowship of the iHV from iHV Chair, Sue Tokley

The last, but by no means least, Honorary Fellow award this year was awarded to Jane Williams. Jane is regarded by many as one of the ‘giants’ of health visiting. She joined the Institute’s Board after running one of the most successful health visiting services in England – and generously shared her wealth of rich experience from her long career. Jane was a Trustee for nearly eight years and her tenure ended during the pandemic in 2021 – which meant we couldn’t celebrate all of Jane’s contributions in person as we had hoped. Some of Jane’s particular contributions were in helping the Board to understand how the Institute’s work could successfully dovetail with the needs of local health visiting managers, as well as with practice.

Jane Williams receiving her Honorary Fellowship of the iHV from iHV Chair, Sue Tokley

Alison Morton, CEO of the Institute of Health Visiting, said:

“It was a real pleasure to award Honorary Fellowships of the Institute this year to Professor Jane Barlow, Pamela Goldberg OBE and Jane Williams. In their individual ways, they have all played key roles in shaping the Institute through their wisdom, guidance and support over so many years. These well-deserved awards are an acknowledgement of the highest esteem that they are held by the Board and the team at the iHV. We thank them for their continued interest in our work.”

Download iHV Annual Report 2022-2023

iHV celebrates 10th Anniversary

It seems incredible that we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Institute of Health Visiting. Since our launch as a centre of excellence for health visiting on 28 November 2012, there is so much to celebrate at this important landmark in our journey. Anniversary landmarks are important as they provide a time to celebrate achievements, remember the ‘highs and lows’ and everyone who supported us and shared our journey with us. So many people have played a crucial part in our success over the last ten years – we did it together – thank you!

Yesterday evening, the iHV hosted an evening reception to mark this special occasion. The event was held at 10 Union St. in London – the impressive new building and shared home of our close partners, the Royal College of Midwives, and the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. We were delighted to gather together with colleagues, partners, supporters, funders, members, Fellows and the iHV team who have all contributed to the Institute’s success and been the driving force behind the organisation. They are all ‘friends’ of the iHV and share our vision to improve health and reduce inequalities for babies, young children, families and communities – and recognise the value of health visiting.

iHV 10th Anniversary celebration – 8 December 2022

In particular, it was very special to welcome the four founding health visiting academics who provided the vision and were the driving force behind the Institute: Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Prof Dame Sarah Cowley DBE, Prof Sally Kendall MBE and Prof Ros Bryer. We were also joined by our first Chair, Sally Russell OBE. We are indebted to all of them for their clear vision and tenacity to turn a seedling idea into the fully functioning and successful organisation that the iHV is today.

The iHV’s Founders (from the left): Prof Ros Bryar, Prof Sally Kendall MBE, Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Sally Russell OBE, Professor Dame Sarah Cowley DBE

Professor Dame Sarah Cowley DBE, who is fondly known by many health visitors as the ‘god’ of health visiting, brought the opening address and reflections on behalf of the iHV Board of Trustees. Sarah has been so enormously influential in guiding the profession through her academic activities over very many years.

Prof Dame Sarah Cowley DBE

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE needed no introductions as our second speaker, and the driving force behind the iHV as its first Executive Director (2012-2020). The Institute of Health Visiting, health visitors, and families across the UK owe a huge debt to Cheryll for the inspiration she has provided through her establishment of our organisation. Read more about the early days of the iHV in a fabulous blog by our first Executive Director Dr Cheryll Adams CBE here.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE

The iHV’s current Executive Director, Alison Morton, then brought an update on the iHV’s achievements over the last two years and the organisation’s priorities and vision for the future. We launched our latest annual report which contains highlights from the last year, as well as an overview of key achievements from our first ten years.

Alison Morton, iHV’s Executive Director

Every year, the iHV Board of Trustees bestows an Honorary Fellowship award at its annual event. These awards are only made to individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to not only the iHV, but also the profession of health visiting and the families we serve. We were delighted to award this year’s Honorary Fellowship to Sally Hogg. Sally is well-known in the sector as a champion for babies and was described as ‘a galvanising force for good who has worked tirelessly to address the baby blind spot in national policy’.

Sally Hogg receiving her Honorary Fellowship of the iHV from Prof Dame Sarah Cowley and Alison Morton

We were also delighted to launch two short films to raise the profile of health visiting and shine a light on the valuable work that health visitors do. Read our full news story for an overview of the films and links to view them.

Thank you to everyone who joined our celebrations. Collaboration lies at the heart of the work of the Institute, and we look forward to our continuing work together over the next ten years, and beyond.

Images from iHV 10th Anniversary event

Images from iHV 10th Anniversary event

Read iHV's Annual Report 2022

Read our news story on the launch of our short films and links to view them

Photo credits: Matthew Walker Photography

iHV launches 8th Annual Report

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) is delighted to announce the launch of its eighth Annual Report.

Launched at the iHV annual Leadership conference on 1 December 2020, the report details the Institute’s developments, partnerships and projects over the past 12 months, plus the preliminary findings from our latest annual survey.

After the initial disappointment of having to postpone so many of our plans for 2020, #TeamiHV quickly embraced the challenges of working online to not only deliver our conferences and PIMH Forums on a virtual platform but our training as well, and this has been very enthusiastically received.

2020 has been a year like none before for health visiting, as it faced the challenges of adapting to a world forced into “lockdown”. The challenges of COVID-19 have been felt both by the Institute and in practice, bringing with them much learning. Our first concern is always the families we support, whom we know this year did not receive either adequate or, in some cases, any support during a crucial time.

Whilst much of the world’s attention was focused on reducing the transmission of the virus and treating acutely ill patients (mostly adults), it was clear that the needs of children and families were increasing, yet they were largely overlooked by policy makers. At the iHV, we have been concerned from the outset about the wider impacts of the pandemic and have raised concerns about the vulnerability of babies and young children who are at home, hidden from society and some living with significant adversity and abuse.

Download eighth iHV Annual Report

Institute awards two honorary Fellowships as it launches annual report

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) is delighted to announce two new honorary Fellows and the launch of its seventh annual report, detailing the progress and many highlights of the iHV over the last year.

Professor Mitch Blair and Sir Al Aynsley-Green both received an honorary Fellowship of the Institute of Health Visiting at the iHV’s seventh annual celebration event held in London last week (Tuesday 3 December 2019). Professor Blair’s honorary Fellowship is awarded in recognition of his early and continued support to both the Institute and the health visiting profession; and Sir Al’s honorary Fellowship is in recognition for his significant continued advocacy for children and particularly the lives of vulnerable children. Honorary Fellowship is a mark of the high esteem in which those awarded it are held by the Institute’s board.

Professor Mitch Blair is Professor of Paediatrics and Child Public Health at Imperial College London and a consultant paediatrician at Northwick Park Hospital. His primary research interests are in preventative child health programmes, child health indicators and international child health services research.

Professor Mitch Blair receiving his honorary Fellowship from Pamela Goldberg OBE, Chair of iHV

Sir Albert Aynsley-Green is a paediatric endocrinologist and Professor Emeritus of Child Health at University College London. He was appointed as the first Children’s Commissioner for England in 2005 and was knighted by the Queen in 2006 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the education and health of children. More recently Sir Al has served as President of the BMA and he is currently visiting professor of advocacy for children and childhood at Nottingham Trent University. He is also author of ‘The British Betrayal of Childhood’.

Sir Al Aynsley-Green receiving his honorary Fellowship from Pamela Goldberg OBE, Chair of iHV

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director of the Institute of Health Visiting, said:

“It was a great pleasure to welcome both Professor Mitch Blair and Sir Albert Aynsley-Green onto the stage at our annual celebration event to receive their honorary Fellowships of the Institute. Both are great supporters of the Institute and the health visiting profession, and we are thrilled and proud to add them to our list of amazing Honorary Fellows.”

The seventh iHV annual report was also launched during the iHV’s annual celebration event. It details the Institute’s developments, partnerships and projects over the past 12 months.

Dr Adams commented:

“I am delighted to share our latest annual report as we celebrate our seventh birthday. A big thank you to all our members, Fellows and partners, we look forward to continuing our work with you to protect and strengthen the health of children, families and communities into the future.”

Download iHV Year seven Annual Report 2018/19

iHV publishes 2017/18 annual report

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) is delighted to announce its sixth annual report, detailing the progress and many highlights of the Institute over the last year.

The annual report was launched at the Institute’s Annual Lecture and Reception held yesterday evening in London.

Download iHV Annual Report 2017/18

iHV celebrates its 5th year

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) is delighted to share its fifth annual report. This details the progress and many highlights of the iHV over the last year as it marks five years of commitment to the health visiting profession. This will be launched at a celebratory event this afternoon (5 December).

Annual report cover 2017

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, executive director of the Institute of Health Visiting, announced:

“I am so proud of everything that the Institute has achieved and delivered to support the health visiting profession over the last five years – it really is astonishing. I thank the iHV board and staff and all our members who have supported the Institute to become what it is today – it’s been a massive team effort.

“When we launched the Institute in November 2012, health visiting was enjoying a significant investment from government. Today, the profession is in a much more challenged position – cash-strapped local authorities have reduced health visitor numbers in many areas.

“As the Institute moves forward, it will continue to support universal preventative services for every family. Every health visitor knows that pressures on families can change from one day to the next, and, when they change, families may need access to qualified professionals such as health visitors to support them.

“As we celebrate our 5^th birthday, and look to the next five years, the Institute commits to working even harder to promote the essential role of health visitors to protect and strengthen the health for all children, families and communities, so that every child has the best start in life.”

Download iHV 5th Annual Report 2016/2017

Institute awards two honorary Fellowships as it launches annual report

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) is delighted to announce two new honorary Fellows and the launch of its fourth annual report, detailing the progress and many highlights of the iHV over the last year.

Dame Elizabeth Fradd and Lord Victor Adebowale received their honorary Fellowships of the Institute of Health Visiting at the iHV’s fourth annual celebration event held in London yesterday evening (7 December). The awards, in recognition of their encouragement to found the Institute and their continued support of both the iHV and the health visiting profession, mark the high esteem in which they are held by the Institute’s board.

Dame Elizabth Fradd receiving her honorary Fellowship from Pamela Goldberg OBE, chair of iHV
Picture by: www.matthewwalkerphotography.com

Lord Victor Adebowale receiving his honorary Fellowship from Pamela Goldberg OBE, chair of iHV
Picture by: www.matthewwalkerphotography.com

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, executive director of the Institute of Health Visiting said:

“It was a real pleasure to welcome both Dame Elizabeth Fradd and Lord Victor Adebowale onto the stage at our annual celebration event to receive their honorary Fellowships of the Institute. Both were instrumental in supporting the founding of the Institute five years ago and this is an acknowledgement of their continued interest in our work.”

The iHV annual report, was also launched during the iHV’s annual celebration event, detailing the Institute’s developments over the past 12 months.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, executive director of the Institute of Health Visiting said:

“I am absolutely delighted to share our latest annual report and, as we celebrate our fourth birthday, I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make the Institute the organisation it is today. Together, with our members, Fellows and partners, we will continue to work hard to protect and strengthen the health of children, families and communities into the future.”

Go to iHV Annual Report 2015-2016

New survey shows health visitors need more time to provide PMH support to new mums

The results from the Institute of Health Visiting’s State of Health Visiting Survey 2015 to find out today’s demands on health visitors will be shared with key figures from the world of health visiting and guests at the Institute’s third iHV annual celebration event being held in London on 7 December 2015.

68% of health visitors have seen an increase in postnatal depression over the last two years. 1 in 4 health visitors cannot provide every family with a postnatal mental health (PMH) assessment at 6-8 weeks, and 3 in 4 cannot at 3-4 months as recommended by the government according to the new survey findings announced by the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) and published in their annual report on Monday 7 December. Although these figures have improved from previous years due to the investment in health visiting by the government, they make clear the service remains under resourced locally to implement this important area of public health.

Read full press release

Dr Cheryll Adams, Executive Director of the iHV