iHV supports national vaccination campaign to protect newborns this winter

iHV welcomes and supports the Government’s national campaign urging expectant mothers to get vaccinated against flu, RSV and whooping cough to protect their babies this winter.

The Department of Health and Social Care campaign – ‘Stay Strong. Get Vaccinated’ – uses bubble wrap imagery to show how vaccination during pregnancy passes life-saving antibodies through the placenta to protect newborns.

It comes as the NHS ramps up preparations for winter to provide the safest possible care for patients, with local NHS leaders taking part in “stress test” exercises and providing targeted care for the most vulnerable.

Alongside this, patients are being urged to protect themselves and their families against winter viruses – to help take pressure off hardworking staff and ensure care is there for patients when they need it most.

Health Minister, Ashley Dalton, said:

“We urge expectant mothers to come forward for their flu, RSV and whooping cough jabs – it’s one of the most powerful ways to protect your baby through those critical first months.

“Winter is always tough for the NHS but we are working hard to ramp up preparations so the health service is ready for patients when they need it.

“Let’s work together to protect ourselves and ease pressure on our NHS – the single best way you can protect yourself and your family is by getting vaccinated.”

The multi-channel campaign supported by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England will be shown across TV, video on demand, radio, outdoor advertising and social media. A second phase of the campaign in October will aim to encourage people with long-term health conditions to come forward for flu vaccination.

Each year, some 600,000 women give birth in England. New data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reveals hundreds of thousands of pregnant women missed vital vaccines last winter with:

just over a third (35%) vaccinated against flu
around half receiving a vaccination for RSV, since the programme was launched a year ago
a third missing their whooping cough vaccination (66% uptake, though this rose to 71% in early 2025)

Whooping Cough

With 12 infant deaths from whooping cough since the beginning of 2024 and hundreds of babies hospitalised from vaccine-preventable illnesses, it is vital that pregnant women receive their vaccine at the right time – ideally between 20 and 32 weeks.

If you are pregnant and approaching 20 weeks and haven’t been offered the whooping cough vaccine, please speak to your GP or midwife today to find out how you can get your vaccine.

RSV – Respiratory syncytial virus

RSV infects around 90% of children in their first two years of life and can cause a lung infection called bronchiolitis. The RSV season usually starts in October and, while there is no risk-free birth month, babies born in late summer or the autumn are most likely to be admitted to hospital. Hundreds of babies attend Emergency Departments each day for bronchiolitis through most of November and December.

That is why it is so important that pregnant women between 20 and 32 weeks ensure they are vaccinated as soon as possible – please speak to your GP or midwife today to find out how you can get your vaccine.

Flu

Since the start of September, pregnant women and millions of children have been able to get their flu vaccinations. As of 1 October, adults over 65, those at clinical risk and other eligible groups will also be able to get their flu jabs, with over-75s and those who are immunosuppressed able to get their COVID vaccine.

Those eligible should speak to their GP or practice nurse, or alternatively their local pharmacist, to book a vaccination appointment. For pregnant women, the vaccine may also be available through maternity services.

Infant Feeding Survey to be reinstated this year

We were delighted to learn this week that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has commissioned Ipsos to run an Infant Feeding Survey in 2023.

The Institute of Health Visiting, alongside many organisations and charities working to support breastfeeding and responsive infant feeding, has been calling for the reinstatement of a national Infant Feeding Survey since it was stopped in 2010. Previously, the Infant Feeding Survey (IFS) was conducted every five years between 1975 and 2010. Valuable data on infant feeding trends were collected in the eight IFS reports that were published during this time.

Following what has been described as ‘an extensive period of development’, on Monday 9 October, DHSC announced that the Infant Feeding Survey 2023 (IFS) for England will begin in mid-October. The reinstatement of the IFS is good news – the lack of evidence on infant feeding practices over the last 13 years has significantly limited our ability to track progress on the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding, and this has hampered policy and practice developments in this area. The main aim of the survey is to provide estimates on the incidence, prevalence, and duration of breastfeeding and other feeding practices adopted by mothers in the first year after their baby is born, as well as wider influences on feeding choices.

This will be the first IFS since the survey was last conducted in 2010 and will provide valuable information on infant feeding behaviours and related factors including:

internationally comparable data on prevalence and duration of breastfeeding
the use of foods and drinks other than breastmilk in infancy
infant feeding help and information received by mothers
information about bottle and breastfeeding in public places
parental leave, return to work, working hours and facilities provided for expressing and storing breastmilk, or breastfeeding at work

DHSC and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) have started sharing information on the survey to raise awareness among potential survey participants. This includes the placement of posters in maternity units and postnatal settings, and posts on social media channels. Through these channels, people will be directed to the IFS website where they can find further information on the IFS and opt out from taking part, if required.

Gail Barker, iHV Expert Adviser for Infant Feeding said:

“The IFS 2023 is a really exciting step forward. It will allow us to gain a current viewpoint on infant feeding practices, based on today’s parents, to help us influence and inform health visiting practice to better meet families’ needs. It is really positive to think about the opportunities this will provide for us in better understanding the influences on parents’ infant feeding decisions – the opportunity to consider infant feeding through the lens of today’s modern society with all of its digital influences, the post-COVID impact, the way we work, and the makeup of families in 2023.

“The survey findings will also provide valuable information on the extent of commercial influences and the marketing of other food and drinks on breastfeeding decisions, alongside the all-important service provision for families. These will all influence how we move forward with our Family Hubs and improve support for families.”

Who will take part in the survey?

DHSC and Ipsos will be contacting more than 20,000 mothers who have recently given birth to take part in this survey. Only individuals who have been selected for the IFS and receive an invitation letter will be able to participate in the survey. Ipsos will only be contacting a random selection of mothers who gave birth in Summer 2023, so not all mothers will be receiving a survey.

What does the IFS involve?

Individuals who have been selected to take part in the IFS will receive an invitation to complete a questionnaire that will be sent to them when their baby is around 9-12-weeks-old. If they complete the first questionnaire, and consent to further contact, they will receive a second questionnaire when their baby is around 4-6 months and a third at around 8-10 months after the birth.

Ipsos will start sending the IFS out in mid-October 2023. If anyone does not want to be included in the study, or receive a survey, they can complete the form on the opting out of the survey page.

How can you help?

Please promote the survey where you work and encourage women to complete it if selected.

You can find out more about the Infant Feeding Survey 2023 on the IFS website.

New DHSC guidance

This week has seen a raft of policy publications from the Department of Health and Social Care. Read our quick update and signposting to resources:

The Health and Care Act 2022 has introduced new architecture to the health and care system, with England formally divided into 42 area-based Integrated Care Systems, covering populations of around 500,000 to 3 million people. Integrated Care Systems are partnerships of health and care organisations that come together to plan and deliver joined up services, with the aim of improving health and reducing inequalities for people who live and work in their area.

Specifically this will lead to the establishment of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs). Previously, Health and wellbeing boards (HWBs) have been a key mechanism for driving joined-up working at a local level since they were established in 2013.

In this new landscape, HWBs continue to play an important role in:

instilling mechanisms for joint working across health and care organisations
setting strategic direction to improve the health and wellbeing of people locally

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) will therefore be updating the guidance on the HWBs general duties and powers to provide information on how HWBs currently work and clarify their role within the system – including working with ICBs and ICPs.

There is a significant step forward in national policy (in which iHV had an input) to see that the usual reference to children and young people, now includes the addition of ‘babies’ in their own right – this guidance marks a key step in ensuring that babies, children, young people and families will be prioritised in the new Integrated Care Systems. Amongst other provisions, the guidance sets out that engagement on strategies should be inclusive of children, young people and their families, including new and expectant parents. There is also an explicit section on how babies, children, young people, and families should be considered in the content of the strategies.

New Guidance

Health and wellbeing boards: draft guidance for engagement
This draft guidance for engagement sets out the role of health and wellbeing boards following publication of the Health and Care Act 2022.
Guidance on the preparation of integrated care strategies
This is statutory guidance for integrated care partnerships on the preparation of integrated care strategies. This document contains an introduction, 2 sections of statutory guidance on the preparation of the integrated care strategy including involvement and content, and a section of non-statutory guidance relating to the publication and review of the integrated care strategy.
Health overview and scrutiny committee principles
This guidance sets out the expectations on how health overview and scrutiny committees should work with integrated care systems (ICSs) to ensure they are locally accountable to their communities.

Consensus statement for information sharing and suicide prevention

We have worked with The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Royal Colleges and other partners to produce the consensus statement for information sharing and suicide prevention.

The consensus statement sets out how and when clinicians should share information about patients, within the legal framework, where this may help prevent suicide.

The statement aims to address the balance between reducing suicide risk through sharing of information, and respecting patient confidentiality.

This document replaces the original consensus statement published in 2014. The updated statement reflects the current legal position, including the implementation of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

Go to DHSC Guidance: Consensus statement for information sharing and suicide prevention

In addition, the Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) has produced guidance for frontline staff on how and when they should share information about patients where this may help prevent suicide (SHARE: consent, confidentiality and information sharing in mental healthcare and suicide prevention – guidance for health and social care staff on how to use the consensus statement and how to engage with patients when discussing confidentiality and consent to share information. The ZSA guidance should be read alongside the consensus statement.

The SHARE resource, developed by the Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA), is designed to support health and social care staff on:

how to use the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) consensus statement for information sharing and suicide prevention
how to engage with patients when discussing confidentiality and consent to share information

Guidance from the Zero Suicide Alliance on using DHSC’s consensus statement and engaging with patients when discussing confidentiality and consent to share information

iHV welcomes DHSC focus on prevention