Health Visiting Service (Children aged 0-5years)

If you live in the Borough of Enfield, the health visiting service is here to support you and your child as they begin to grow. The health visiting teams work with mothers and fathers and their families to promote the health and wellbeing of children from 28 weeks -32-week gestation until their 5^th birthday.

Health visitors are nurses or midwives who have undertaken additional training in community public health nursing. Other members of the team include community staff nurses, early years’ practitioner (nursery nurses) and health visiting assistants. We also work closely with children’s centres, children’s services and other healthcare professionals as well as your general practitioner (GP).

In Enfield there are four health visiting teams: Bowes, Highlands, Forest Green, Moorfields. They are based geographically, and so depending on where you live, will decide which health visiting team will be supporting you and your family.

What do we do

Our role is to assess your health needs in partnership with you. We will plan and provide services which support you and your wider family as required. We can offer you and your family support before your baby arrives, in the early weeks following birth and as your child grows. We will work alongside you and your family with any parenting issues and guide you to find local services and groups that can also support you as a parent

The following contacts are offered to all families routinely as part of the national healthy child programme (DoH 2009):

• During your pregnancy at 28-32 weeks
• Between 10-14 day after baby’s birth
• Six-eight weeks after your baby’s birth
• When your child is between 8-12 months. This will be a developmental review by a member of the health visiting team.
• When your child is between 2-2.5 years. This will be a developmental review by a member of the health visiting team.

You can also contact your health visiting team any time if you wish to discuss or obtain information relating to:

• your health – before and after the birth of your baby
• your baby/child’s health
• your family’s health
• Emotional wellbeing and postnatal depression
• and all the usual things that you might want help and advice on with a new baby, including feeding, sleeping, crying, minor ailments, and when to see a doctor.

Healthy Child Clinics

Enfield’s health visitors run Healthy Child Clinics in community spaces such as Children’s Centres and Libraries which parents can attend without an appointment. Full details are available on the website.