case studies Archives - IHV

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) has published “Making History: health visiting during COVID-19”, a collection of case studies which presents a window into the working lives of health visitors and families navigating the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In these unprecedented times, the world “locked down”. Yet life continued, babies kept being born and the normal struggles of parenthood became amplified for many.

Whilst some families enjoyed the relative peace of an enforced slower pace of life; most families were negatively impacted by lockdown and home was not a safe place for some, with rates of domestic violence and abuse, mental health problems and safeguarding concerns quickly becoming a source of concern.

The case studies, family stories and creative pieces contained within “Making History: Health visiting during COVID-19” capture the pace and scale of change as health visiting services adapted to working during “lockdown”.

Alison Morton, Director of Policy at the Institute of Health Visiting, commented:

“It has taken a global public health pandemic to shine a spotlight on the importance of the health visiting service.

“Parents reached out to health visitors for support as many other sources of support were no longer available. Health visitors are Specialist Community Public Health Nurses providing a vital “safety net” for babies, young children and their families whose needs can easily be hidden from sight. Their specialist public health skills, supporting babies, young children and their families during the biggest public health emergency in living memory, have been needed more than ever.”

Health visitors have risen to this challenge with professionalism and autonomy, flexing and developing innovative service “workarounds” to ensure that families receive the best possible support. Different areas have responded in different ways, many introducing “virtual contacts” instead of face-to-face, as well as rapidly responding to urgent needs to support families using Personal Protective Equipment.

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association Community Wellbeing Board, commented:

“Councils are incredibly proud of how their public health workforce has responded over the last 6 months. This report is testimony to the commitment and resilience of health visitors and illustrates the pivotal role they play in ensuring children and families get the support they need in challenging times.

“In the upcoming Spending Review, we are asking the Government to reverse the £700 million of public health reductions, to enable councils to strengthen this workforce and ensure we can continue to support families when they need us most.”

Alison Morton concluded:

“We need to learn from COVID-19 and the experiences of families and health visitors to ensure that the health visiting service is strengthened and fit to face the challenges that lie ahead as we adapt to living with the virus for the foreseeable future. The challenges that we face are not insurmountable – individually and collectively we have the ability to put things right. But this requires bold action to make the difference – there is no time to waste, the time to act is now.”

Read iHV's Making History: health visiting during COVID-19

Our recommendations for restoration of the health visiting service are:

Health visiting services should be reinstated (where they have not been) as a matter of urgency as a vital support and safety-net for children, with appropriate measures put in place, including the use of PPE, to reduce the spread of the virus.
Health visiting services must be fully prepared for any future waves of COVID-19. NHS England should revise the Community Prioritisation Plan (for phase one pandemic management) and develop clear messages on the importance of continuation of the service to ensure the needs of children are prioritised. This should include removing wording on the redeployment of health visitors.
A clear workforce plan is needed to ensure that the service has sufficient surge capacity to manage the backlog of missed appointments, as well as demand for support due to the secondary impacts of the pandemic.
An evaluation of the use of virtual, non-face-to-face service delivery methods is urgently needed to determine their effectiveness for identification of vulnerabilities and risks, impact on child and family outcomes and reducing inequalities to inform future digital change.
A cross-government strategy is needed to reduce inequalities and “level-up” our society – this will require investment to strengthen the health visiting service which plays a crucial role in the early identification and support of the most disadvantaged families.
The impact of working during the COVID-19 pandemic on staff wellbeing cannot be underestimated – a proactive plan is needed to ensure staff have the right support during the restoration of services and to create high quality workplaces for all staff in the future

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) is delighted to publish ‘Health visiting – Good practice case studies’ to support our recently issued ‘Health Visiting in England: A Vision for the Future’ – our evidence-based blueprint to rebuild health visiting services.

This resource of ten shortlisted good practice case studies is just a small representation of the great work that health visitors are doing throughout the country – they showcase high quality care in a number of different settings, demonstrating the “art of the possible”.

Giving every child the best start in life remains a key government priority and this document is intended to help spread good practice by learning from those who are leading the way, often in difficult circumstances.

Alison Morton, Director of Policy and Quality at the Institute of Health Visiting, commented:

“As we start the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, in honour of Florence Nightingale, a pioneer for public health and founder of modern nursing, it is timely to publish ‘good news stories’ about health visiting – to shine a light on the vital contribution that health visitors, as part of the nursing workforce, play in improving outcomes for children and their families.”

Collated in response to Public Health England’s call for submissions to support the refresh of the Healthy Child Programme and the 4-5-6 model, these good practice case studies represent a range of public health priorities, as well as initiatives to improve analytical capabilities and interventions to improve outcomes for the most disadvantaged children.

Ms Morton continued:

“We are very thankful to the authors of these case studies who have generously shared their time and expertise for the benefit of others. We hope that you will enjoy reading them and will share them with others through your networks.

“We plan to make this a regular publication and hope that this will support a learning culture in health visiting that will drive quality improvement to give every child the best start in life.”

Download: Health visiting - Good practice case studies

Go to Health Visiting in England: A Vision for the Future (full report and executive summary available)

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