Resources available for last week’s #iHVInsights

Calling all iHV members – if you missed our iHV Insights webinar on “Training as a health visitor during a pandemic” held last week (Thursday 20 August), then don’t worry as the resources from this iHV Insights, as well as the previous ones, are available to iHV members to access as a free member benefit afterwards.

On Thursday 20 August, we were joined by a great panel of experts including:

Joanne Seal, Leader UWE, Chair of United Kingdom Standing Conference on SCPHN.
Ekaete George, Senior Practice Teacher and Practice Development Lead, Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust.
Heena Fountain, Student Health Visitor, Central and North West London Foundation Trust.
Charlotte Grant, Student Health Visitor, Sutton Health and Care.
Maggie Fisher, Professional Development Officer, Institute of Health Visiting.

Click here to catch up on iHV Insights Training as a health visitor during a pandemic, as well as previous iHV Insights sessions:

Go to iHV Insights resources - don't forget to login to access

If you are unable to join the live event, after the event, iHV members can access:

Recording of the live iHV Insights webinar
Pdf of webinar slides
Responses to the Q&A session – key themes to unanswered questions provided by our expert panel
Record of Attendance/ Reflection template for you to download and complete for each iHV Insights attended

Next iHV Insights

Date for your diary – iHV Insights webinar: “Supporting smoke-free families” – date TBC.

Further details, including date and how to book, coming soon!

About iHV Insights

iHV Insights are webinars run just for our members.

These live online sessions are of interest to frontline health visitors and student health visitors, as well as service leads, commissioners and wider members of the health visiting team, both in the UK and with lots of transferable learning for our international members too.

If you are not an iHV member, join us today to access these resources and many other member benefits.

Accelerating the return to near-normal levels of non-Covid health services

On 31 July, plans for the next – third – phase of the NHS response to the COVID-19 pandemic, effective from 1 August 2020, were set out in a letter from the Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens & Chief Operating Officer Amanda Pritchard; this includes providers of community services.

The Government has agreed that the NHS Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) incident level will move from Level 4 (national) to Level 3 (regional) with effect from 1 August. This approach matches the differential regional measures the Government is deploying and builds on the guidance set out in the COVID-19 restoration of community health services for children and young people: second phase of NHS response to “fully restore [the health visiting] service, with some prioritisation where indicated and as capacity dictates”.

The priorities for this phase are:

Accelerating the return to near-normal levels of non-Covid health services, making full use of the capacity available in the ‘window of opportunity’ between now and winter
Preparation for winter demand pressures, alongside continuing vigilance in the light of further probable Covid spikes locally and possibly nationally.
Doing the above in a way that takes account of lessons learned during the first Covid peak; locks in beneficial changes; and explicitly tackles fundamental challenges including: support for our staff, and action on inequalities and prevention.

Read the letter here

iHV welcomes Babies in Lockdown report

Charity collective, Best Beginnings, Home-Start UK and the Parent-Infant Foundation, publish a new report sharing families’ experiences of lockdown during pregnancy or with a baby.

Babies in Lockdown: listening to parents to build back better (2020), based on a survey of over 5000 families, highlights the chronic under resourcing of services for families, the inequalities in babies’ early experiences and its worsening forecast due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report warns that many families with lower incomes, young parents and those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, will have been hit hardest by the pandemic. The Babies in Lockdown Report shines a light on UK baby inequalities as charities call on Government to act now to avoid a “Post-COVID19 lottery”.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director iHV, commented:

“The iHV welcomes this excellent report which lays bare just how challenging it has been for many parents during lockdown. It was distressing to read their stories and, in particular, how the most disadvantaged have felt the hardest impact of lockdown and lack of support. It is important that we listen to the voice of these parents and ensure that we are better prepared to meet the needs of young children and their families as the pandemic continues. We support the report title, we now need to build back better for infants and their families and this will include ensuring that all families receive support from the health visiting service during this crucial stage of their parenting journey”.

The report tells us that:

COVID-19 has affected parents, babies and the services that support them in diverse ways.
Families already at risk of poor outcomes have suffered the most.
Without action, the pandemic could cast a long shadow on the lives of some babies.

The Babies in Lockdown: listening to parents to build back better (2020) report makes three policy calls for the UK Government:

A one-off Baby Boost to enable local services to support families who have had a baby during or close to lockdown.
A new Parent-Infant Premium providing new funding for local commissioners, targeted at improving outcomes for the most vulnerable children.
Significant and sustained investment in core funding to support families from conception to age two and beyond, including in statutory services, charities and community groups.

Read Babies in Lockdown: listening to parents to build back better (2020) full report

Read Babies in Lockdown Executive Summary

Go to Babies in Lockdown website for more info

Bookings now open for August iHV Insights

Our 4th iHV Insights webinar takes place on Thursday 20 August 3.30 to 4.30 pm.

This will cover the topic of: “Training as a Health Visitor during a pandemic”.

We are pleased to announce that our expert panel of speakers includes:

Joanne Seal, Leader UWE, Chair of United Kingdom Standing Conference on SCPHN. Title: The Changing Educational Context in SCPHN Education during a Pandemic
Ekaete George, Senior Practice Teacher and Practice Development Lead, Guys and St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust. Title: Maximising the SCPHN learning experience during 2020
Heena Fountain, Student Health Visitor, Central and North West London Foundation Trust. Title: Frontline health visiting during the Covid19 pandemic – A student’s perspective
Charlotte Grant, Student Health Visitor, Sutton Health and Care. Title: The Unexpected Module: how to train as a health visitor during a public health pandemic and why it’s important to prioritise yourself during the pandemic
Maggie Fisher, Professional Development Officer, Institute of Health Visiting. Title: Top tips for looking after yourself in practice

The webinar will also be recorded and will be available to iHV members on our website after the event, together with a FAQ sheet should we have a high number of questions.

Please join us.

How to book for iHV members

Go to our EventBrite booking page and please use your iHV membership number as your access code. If you have any problems or enquiries please email [email protected] and we will be happy to help.

Once you have submitted your details, you will be able to select your ticket and proceed to checkout – please note that this webinar is free to iHV members.

Go to EventBrite booking page

Previous iHV Insights

The great news is that recordings of all the iHV Insights webinars are available for iHV members to access as a free member benefit after the event.

Click here to catch up on our 3 fabulous iHV Insights sessions so far:

21 May 2020 – COVID-19 in children and managing minor childhood illnesses
18 June 2020 – Domestic Violence and Abuse: Keeping victims and children safe during a pandemic
16 July 2020 – Health visiting during a pandemic and beyond

PHE statement: face coverings for babies and very young children

Public Health England statement on PHE warning: face coverings for babies and very young children

Professor Viv Bennett, Chief Nurse at Public Health England (PHE) said:

“PHE has been made aware that face coverings for babies and very young children are available for sale in England. Guidance is clear that children under the age of three years should not wear face coverings or masks, these masks should not be used as they are potentially dangerous and can cause choking and suffocation.

If you or your child is unwell with the symptoms of COVID-19, then you should get a test and stay at home until you get the result. If you are worried then you should call 111 or speak to your doctor.”

Background:

Children aged under three years of age should not wear face coverings or masks
Wearing face coverings/masks is not compulsory in any public setting for children aged 3-11
We advise adults and children over the age of 11 years to wear face masks in enclosed public spaces where it is difficult to socially distance. This may help prevent transmission of virus to someone else if you are infected but do not yet have symptoms
Any adult or child with symptoms should self-isolate in line with the stay at home guidance and get tested.

Resources available for last week’s iHV Insights

Calling all iHV members – did you miss our iHV Insights webinar on “Health visiting during a pandemic and beyond” held last week (Thursday 16 July)?

Not to worry as the resources from this iHV Insights, as well as the previous ones, are available to iHV members to access as a free member benefit afterwards.

On Thursday 16 July, we were joined by a fabulous panel of experts who were able to provide a focus particularly on ensuring the needs of vulnerable children are met and practical ways to improve virtual contacts during COVID-19 and beyond.

Our expert panel of speakers included:

Professor Viv Bennett CBE, Chief Nurse and Director Maternity and Early Years, Public Health England
Dr Rosemary Singh, Specialist CAMHS Practitioner EPEC and Family Partnership Programmes / Clinical Psychologist, Centre for Parent and Child Support
Gail Barker, Infant Feeding Coordinator, Devon Public Health Nursing

Click here to catch up on iHV Insights Health visiting during a pandemic and beyond, as well as previous iHV Insights sessions:

Go to iHV Insights resources - don't forget to login to access

If you are unable to join the live event, after the event, iHV members can access:

Recording of the live iHV Insights webinar
Pdf of webinar slides
Responses to the Q&A session – key themes to unanswered questions provided by our expert panel (we aim to publish these within 1 week of the event)
Record of Attendance/ Reflection template for you to download and complete for each iHV Insights attended

Next iHV Insights

Date for your diary – iHV Insights webinar: “Training as a health visitor during a pandemic” – 15:30-16:30 20 August.

Further details, including how to book, coming soon!

About iHV Insights

iHV Insights are webinars run just for our members.

If you are not an iHV member, join us today to access these resources and many other member benefits.

Bookings now open for next iHV Insights

Our 3rd iHV Insights webinar takes place on Thursday 16 July 3.30 to 4.30 pm.

This will cover the topic of: “Health visiting during a pandemic and beyond”.

The session will focus particularly on ensuring the needs of vulnerable children are met and practical ways to improve virtual contacts during COVID-19 and beyond.

We are pleased to announce that our expert panel of speakers includes:
• Professor Viv Bennett CBE, Chief Nurse and Director Maternity and Early Years, Public Health England
• Dr Rosemary Singh, Specialist CAMHS Practitioner EPEC and Family Partnership Programmes / Clinical Psychologist, Centre for Parent and Child Support
• Gail Barker, Infant Feeding Coordinator, Devon Public Health Nursing

The webinar will also be recorded and will be available to iHV members on our website after the event, together with a FAQ sheet should we have a high number of questions.

Please join us.

How to book for iHV members

Go to our EventBrite booking page and please use your iHV membership number as your access code. If you have any problems or enquiries please email [email protected] and we will be happy to help.

Once you have submitted your details, you will be able to select your ticket and proceed to checkout – please note that this webinar is free to iHV members.

Go to EventBrite booking page

Previous iHV Insights

The great news is that recordings of all the iHV Insights webinars will be available for iHV members to access as a free member benefit after the event.

Click here to catch up on our 2 fabulous iHV Insights sessions so far:

21 May 2020 – COVID-19 in children and managing minor childhood illnesses
18 June 2020 – Domestic Violence and Abuse: Keeping victims and children safe during a pandemic

Call for case studies – Making history: health visiting during COVID-19

iHV is working collaboratively with Public Health England to capture the stories, workarounds, innovation and rapid learning that has taken place in the health visiting service since the country went into lockdown in March.

We plan to publish these in a special edition of our case study series as a record of this time when history is being made. Capturing your experiences in this way will help us celebrate your successes, learn from each other and provide a legacy for future generations to reflect on.

We invite you to be part of this by submitting your experiences in a variety of ways listed below.

Tell us what it has been like for you

Demonstrate why health visiting matters

Whilst working in a pandemic has presented numerous challenges for the health visiting profession and the families that we work with, it has also provided a unique opportunity for the profession to demonstrate its crucial role, supporting children and families across the breadth of clinical, social and statutory need.

The pace and scale of change has been second to none and 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. No doubt some innovations have worked better than others – it is only by testing and refining that we can really learn and drive quality improvement.

It is imperative that we capture this learning to ensure that we are better prepared for any future pandemics.

What do we need to celebrate? and what have we collectively learned to strengthen future planning?

To avoid reinventing the wheel, or investing time in ideas that have been proven not to work elsewhere, it is important that we all learn from our collective successes as well as our failures.

Help us to capture this by submitting:

Service level case studies that describe your journey and the ways you adapted your service. We are particularly interested to include case studies which detail the ways you managed social distancing, including use of PPE and technology.

What issues did you face locally? What were the most pressing needs of the families in your area? How did you address these? What did you learn along the way (what worked – what didn’t/ benefits and limitation)? What was the impact/ outcomes (include any data/ direct service user feedback and quotes).
(Your case study should be written following the PHE case study guidelines for standard format, and the additional information listed in the iHV case study template – 1800 words maximum)

Family stories – families have faced considerable challenges – tell their story. What challenges did they face, why did this matter? what did you do? and how did your intervention make a difference? – what would the outcomes have looked like without health visiting input? We are interested to receive submissions from the breadth of the health visiting role outlined in the 15 High Impact Areas in the iHV Vision (800 words maximum)
Creative submission – for those of you with a creative flair – have you captured your experiences of working in a pandemic in an artistic way? A poem, a piece of art? We would love to share your stories of working during a pandemic through a variety of mediums.

How to submit

If you would like the work that you are doing to be considered for this publication, please complete your application following the guidelines (please use the iHV case study template).

We welcome the inclusion of photographs which capture your experiences and the ways that your service has adapted during the pandemic. Please ensure that you have gained consent from all subjects in the photographs (service users and staff) for their use within the iHV case study publication.

Please send your completed application to [email protected] by midnight on Monday 29 June.

All submissions will be peer reviewed and applicants will be notified of the outcome within 3 weeks of the closing date.

If you would like to talk through your ideas – please contact Alison Morton [email protected]

Download iHV case study template

iHV co-signs letter to Prime Minister to act now to improve babies’ wellbeing

At the start of Infant Mental Health Awareness Week, the leaders of nearly 80 organisations, including the Institute, have signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling on him to make the youngest children a national priority in order to mitigate the secondary and potentially long-term impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director iHV, said:

“Health visitors have seen at first hand the impact of COVID-19 and the lockdown on new families, and therefore support this important call for much more attention to be placed by government onto the earliest days. There is no other time in the lifespan where investment will save so much on later fiscal spend. It is not only the right thing to do, it also makes sound economic sense and we hope that the prime minister will want to support this call.”

The letter from the First 1001 Days Movement argues that, as politicians decide on COVID-19 relief and recovery packages, there is an opportunity now to invest in the wellbeing of babies and toddlers and the parents that care for them, as part of efforts to build back a better Britain.

The signatories, which include major children’s and mental health charities and professional bodies who are all part of the First 1001 Days Movement, ask the Prime Minister to champion a cross-government strategy for improving outcomes for all children. This should set out a vision for how families will be supported to recover from the impact of COVID-19 and how the Government will begin to ‘level up’ and close gaps in outcomes which have widened during the pandemic.

Download First 1001 Days Movement letter to Prime Minister

iHV joins global call to put Public Health at centre of COVID-19 recovery

The Institute of Health Visiting joins over 40 million doctors, nurses and other health professionals from 90 countries, including many working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, in sending a letter today to G20 leaders urging them to put public health at the centre of their economic recovery packages, to help avoid future crises and make the world more resilient to them.

In the biggest health community mobilisation since the run-up to the 2015 Paris climate agreement, over 350 medical groups representing health professionals (including the World Medical Association, the International Council of Nurses, the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation, the World Organization of Family Doctors and the World Federation of Public Health Associations) have signed the letter on behalf of their members, along with thousands of individual health professionals.

The letter asks governments to prioritise investments in public health, clean air, clean water and a stable climate in the economic stimulus packages currently under consideration. Such investments would reduce air pollution and climate-warming emissions, which damage human health, build greater resilience to future pandemics, and simultaneously create more sustainable jobs.

Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, Executive Director iHV, said:

“The world has the opportunity now to ensure that the next generation is not inhibited by the mistakes of the last. By tackling climate change and ensuring better preparedness for any future pandemics, babies can be given the opportunity for a long and healthy life where they have the health, wellbeing and opportunity to contribute to their economy, to future economies, and to the wellbeing of their descendants.”

To achieve this healthy recovery, leaders of the G20 countries must involve their medical and scientific community in developing the stimulus packages. These stimulus decisions must also take into account medical and scientific assessments of how the measures will impact public health in the short- and long-term.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed doctors, nurses and other health professionals to death, disease and mental distress at levels not seen in decades. The scale of this pain could have been at least partially mitigated by adequate investments in pandemic preparedness, public health and environmental stewardship, the letter states.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has made very clear, the economy suffers when human health is compromised. A science-based approach to a healthy recovery from COVID-19 must lead to decisions to reduce both air pollution, which weakens the lungs, hearts and other organs, and greenhouse gas emissions, which cause drought, extreme heat, flooding, wildfires and other life-threatening disruptions. This should be alongside ensuring every baby is given the best possible start in life and access to education and their parents supported.

A healthy recovery requires governments to invest in sustainable and innovative industries, jobs, food production and food supply chains. In doing so, leaders will encourage healthier diets, more renewable energy, more walking, cycling and zero-emissions public transport, a radical regeneration of trees and nature and other changes that will underpin human, economic and planetary health well into the future.

This letter is supported and promoted by the Global Climate and Health Alliance, Every Breath Matters, and the World Health Organization in service of the global medical and health community.

Go to full list of letter signatories