Number Of Health Visitors Research Articles

Plan to boost number of health visitors

Plan to boost number of health visitors

The Patients’ Opinion of the Health Visitor Efficiency

Aim. To test the users’ contentment with the health visiting service, to see if the users are getting enough information about their health condition, to see if the users feel they are being frequently visited by the health visitor and to check whether something needs to be changed in the health visiting service work. Methods. The research was carried out as a term study. 128 users of the health visiting service of Health Centre Sisak participated in a 25-question survey. The answers were defined by the Likert scale. Results. 82 respondents (65%) believe that the service is exceptionally organised and 95 of them (75%) are getting all the necessary information about their health condition. 89 respondents (71%) are visited by the service once a month. Some of the suggestions on how to improve the service are the following: more frequent visits, introduction of the afternoon shift for the employed respondents and larger number of health visitors which would prolong their stay at the respondent’s home. Conclusion. The users of the health visitor service have positive attitude towards the service and they feel they are getting enough information about their health condition.

Addressing the declining health visitor workforce

A debate in the House of Commons in October focused on the recent reduction in the number of health visitors in England. Dave Hancock highlights some of the points raised and solutions proposed

An innovative strategy to increase a professional workforce: the fast track initiative for health visitors in England.

Fast tracking is one strategy that organizations use to ameliorate workforce shortfalls by attracting new recruits, and accelerating their skills development and experience. In response to the Government's target of rapidly expanding the number of health visitors in England's National Health Service, the fast track initiative was launched to recruit newly qualified (fast track) as well as experienced (standard entry) nurses and midwives onto health visiting programmes. This paper evaluates the fast track initiative, from the perspective of fast track and standard entry students, practice teachers and health visitor managers. A mixed methods design was used comprising a questionnaire survey (n = 71 students), semi-structured interviews (n = 37 students), telephone interviews (n = 13 managers) and six focus groups (n = 24 practice teachers). Data were collected between April 2012 and July 2013. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and the Pearson Chi-square test were used to analyse the quantitative data. The qualitative data were analysed thematically. Motivations for health visiting as a career choice were similar for fast track and standard entry students, with career progression and interest in health promotion being key motivators. There was consensus that personal qualities and characteristics were more important than experience or qualifications. However, fast track students were significantly less confident about their public health competencies in leadership and management (p < 0.05) and communication (p < 0.02). Practice teachers and managers also reported that fast track students required more intensive supervision particularly at the beginning of the programme. Programme completion including pass rates and academic achievement showed no significant difference by route of entry (p > 0.5). Fast tracking offers a useful recruitment strategy in order to expand the health visitor workforce, but longitudinal research is needed to confirm benefits such as retention and career trajectories.

G38(P) Evaluating a service to support mentors and mentoring in student health visitor education

The government believes early intervention, ensuring families get the best start, will help to build a strong and stable society (DH 2011). The Implementation Plan 2011–15 (DH 2011) detailed the need to invest in a robust health visiting service, by increasing health visitor numbers by 50%. One key deliverable was increased training places delivered by Higher Educational Institutions and supported by Practice Teachers in the community setting. To facilitate the extra training places for students, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2011) produced guidance in utilising mentors, usually involved in pre-registration student nurse training, to work alongside the Practice Teachers in educating health visitor students. This project involved participants in a process of inquiry to evaluate a service delivered by Practice Teachers, to support mentors and mentoring in Student Health Visitor education. Consideration of Stringer and Genat (2004) Look, Think and Act approach to Action Research led to the development of the research plan. A purposive sample of Practice Teachers, Student Practice Teachers and mentors participated. Data was collated through semi structured interviews, transcribed verbatim and analysed utilising a framework analysis approach. The key findings were a positive evaluation of the support for mentors through supervision sessions, the lack of support around preparation of the mentors, the lack of support from management and the importance of support from team members. Failing students were seen as problematic. Willingness and an interest in education were crucial mentor attributes and future training was seen to lie with Practice Teachers and not mentors. Recommendation for practice highlighted the work that Practice Teachers and managers need to undertake in developing group supervision sessions, determining the future roles of Practice Teachers and mentors, evaluating the mentor training sessions and considering systems to support mentors with failing students.

Keen to bring ‘new energy’

The Health Visitor Implementation Plan aims to significantly drive up the number of health visitors by 2015. Eleanor de Bruin examines the impact this could have on how they support early years practitioners.

Understanding the role of peripatetic community practice teachers

Accepted practice for supporting student health visitors in their training has been for each community practice teacher (CPT) to support a single student in the clinical setting. Following the publication of the Call to Action ( Department of Health, 2011 ), there has been a dramatic increase in student health visitor numbers. This has affected the ability to teach in this way, and a system of ‘long-arming’ has been introduced, whereby each CPT provides teaching support to several students facilitated via mentors. This qualitative study using grounded theory sought to evaluate the impact of this change by interviewing six experienced CPTs. Questions were compiled following a comprehensive literature review. Common themes included communication, capacity to undertake the role and support networks. Interviews confirmed that there remained a deep professionalism and dedication to the role. Despite changes in the role, CPTs continue to strive to provide high-calibre support to students and mentors. All participants saw support from management as positive, although some suggested support from higher education institutions was variable. Effective communications and a commitment to building strong working relationships were seen as important. Some interviewees mentioned being overstretched and had experienced burnout and stress. This appeared greatest where CPTs continued to carry a caseload while managing several students and mentors. Further investigation into the outcomes achieved, through examining the confidence and competence of newly qualified health visitors trained through this method, is recommended.

Increasing health visitor quotas is leading to burnout and job losses

Newly trained health visitors and their mentors need greater support in coping with overwhelming caseloads amid fears they are on the brink of burnout, community practitioners warned last week. Addressing the Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association (CPHVA) conference last week, chief nursing officer for England Jane Cummings said the government is ‘on track’ with its plan to recruit 4,200 health visitors by 2015. But concerns remain about how the government’s health visitor plan is being implemented and what will happen after 2015. Unite professional officer Obi Amadi, a member of the government’s health visiting taskforce, told the conference: ‘We know many health visitors are due to retire and they may do so because their work is challenging. They need support.’ Health visitors and clinical practice teachers, who are assigned to mentor students on placements, spoke of the increasing pressure they are under as a result of the influx of newly qualified health visitors. Addressing the conference from the floor, a clinical lead for health visiting, who did not want to be named, said many clinical practice teachers are so busy that they are supporting student health visitors in their own time. She said: ‘We are increasingly seeing burnout among clinical practice teachers. They have to balance students’ needs with those of patients – and obviously patient needs come first.’ Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust set up a 12-month preceptorship programme for new health visitors last year to ensure they are fully prepared for challenging caseloads. Zarida Riaz, a community practice teacher at the trust, told Nursing Standard: ‘We worry about the number of health visitors coming in who feel overwhelmed. There is a great deal of pressure to get them through their training at the moment.’ Since 2011, she said the trust has been focusing on doubling its health visitor numbers, from 120 to 240 by 2015. Other health visitors expressed concerns that the focus on boosting health visitor numbers is leading to redundancies in other areas. ‘We really value community nursery nurses, but since the health visitor implementation programme began it seems they are being made redundant to make way for more health visitors,’ said one health visitor from York. Department of Health and Public Health England director of nursing Viv Bennett said: ‘With single workforce growth targets, we have to be careful we do not get perverse outcomes.’

Flexible retirement and overseas recruitment expected to increase health visitor numbers

Flexible retirement and overseas recruitment expected to increase health visitor numbers

Flexible retirement planned to boost health visitor numbers

Flexible retirement planned to boost health visitor numbers

Health visitor numbers are rising but we need more in the south

The Institute of Health Visiting welcomes the announcement of 1,000 more health visitors in post in England since the health visitor implementation plan was released just over two years ago. Back then, health visitor workforce numbers were at historically low levels and in free fall. Reversing that downward trend was an almost Herculean task.

Huge Strides on reversing decline in health visitor numbers

We read with concern your news story, ‘Number of health visitor recruits falls below government target’ (April 10).

School nurses face worrying wait

The Department of Health has launched a development programme for school nurses but they are worried their profession is losing out in the drive to boost health visitor numbers in England.

Plan to increase number of health visitors in England

Plan to increase number of health visitors in England

Campaign to increase health visitor numbers

Health visitors have welcomed confirmation that the government plans to increase dramatically the number of people entering the profession, but have questioned how the move will be funded.

Safeguarding: the missing seat at the table

Safeguarding: the missing seat at the table

Government resists setting targets for health visitor numbers

Government resists setting targets for health visitor numbers

Cuts in health visitor numbers could derail government plans

The new role for health visitors set out in a government review may not be realised if the workforce continues to decline

An assessment of need for health visiting in general practice populations.

An index of the need for health visiting in general practice populations in the United Kingdom was developed, using routinely held data, to inform decisions about the deployment of health visitors. The following indicators of need for health visiting were developed by consensus among health visitors and others: the population aged under 5 years; elective admissions under 5 years; births under 2,500 g; deaths under 65 years; all expressed as rates per 10,000 people registered with general practices in Norfolk. All indicators were compared with the number of health visitors per 10,000 people, obtained by a postal survey of health visitors. The indicators were converted to Z-scores and summed to produce a composite score of need for each general practice. The results were compared with the results of a workload profile using data compiled by health visitors within one Primary Care Group. Health visitors are not allocated according to need at either the practice or Primary Care Group level. The Pearson's correlation coefficient between the allocation suggested by this method and current allocation is 0.37 (p < 0.01). The correlation between this method and the allocation suggested by health visitors' workload profiling in one Primary Care Group was 0.76 (p < 0.01). Health visitors are currently distributed according to historic patterns rather than need. This paper describes a simple method of determining need at general practice level, which can be used to allocate health visitors equitably.

Fall in number of health visitors puts community nursing at risk, says RCN

The entire system of community nursing in Scotland could fail if the government allows the number of district nurses and health visitors to fall, the Royal College of Nursing warned hist week.