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NHS

Spotlights:
Health Visiting

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ChatHealth

ChatHealth in health visiting was first piloted in 2016 in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to provide a way for parents and carers of babies and children under 5 to contact a health visitor.

Since then, health visiting messaging services have been set up by more than 40% of health visiting services in England. The parents and carers of more than 2 million babies and children aged 0-5 can reach local health visiting services via ChatHealth messaging lines.

Recent evaluation has found that ChatHealth’s use in health visiting is helping health visitors to provide parents with easier access to support, reduce pressure on other services and is providing a high level of user satisfaction.

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  • Enabling parents and carers of babies and children aged 0-5 to contact their local health visiting team via ChatHealth messaging.
  • Offering advice and support about a whole range of concerns from infant feeding and sleeping to child development and maternal mental health.
  • Parents say it’s reassuring, helpful and convenient to reach health visitors via ChatHealth messaging.

 

Impacts between April 2023 and March 2024:

Number of Contacts

73,275

messaging conversations between parents and carers of babies and children under 5 and health visitors

(2023-24)

Number of Contacts

43,244

messaging conversations between  parents and carers of babies and children aged 0-19 and health visitors/school nurses

(2023-24)

Top Reasons for Contact

  • Infant feeding
  • Development and behaviour
  • Minor illnesses
(2023-24)

Busiest Times for Contact

On Mondays and Tuesdays
between 9:00 – 10:00

(2023-24)

Service User Experience

90%

of parents and carers who used ChatHealth said their conversation helped them 

(2023-24)

Staff User Experience

95%

of health visitors surveyed said they would recommend the use of ChatHealth to other health professionals.

(2023-24)

Feedback from a parent

“It’s hard being a mum at times and having this number to text today for advice and help has left me feeling a thousand times more positive. Thank you!”

(2023-24)

Feedback from a health visitor

“ChatHealth’s use by parents has grown, which proves that it is a valuable source of communication and access to the health visiting team”

(2023-24)

Evidence

iHV Case Study on Boosting Health Literacy & Care: Digital Parental Support via ChatHealth messaging in December 2023

 

 

Evidence

Journal article on the use of a text messaging service for communication with parents and carers

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HealthWebsites

Health for Under 5s is part of our suite of HealthWebsites alongside Health for Kids and Health for Teens. Co-designed with parents, carers and families, this award-winning website is designed to support prospective and new parents and carers through their child’s early years.

All content has been produced by health visitors and other health and wellbeing experts. Localised information is delivered in partnership with 11 NHS providers across the UK. Each partner has a local area section, which includes local information, news and support services.

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Visit Health for Under 5s website

Health for Under 5s

Health for Under 5s  covers everything that new and prospective parents and carers need to know about through their child’s development, from pregnancy through to the preschool years.

 

Impacts between April 2023 and March 2024:

Number of Local Areas

11

Local Areas
delivered by NHS providers

(2023-24)

Most Visited Pages

  1. Toddler article: Top tips for ditching the dummy
  2. Baby article: a step-by-step guide to breastfeeding
  3. Local Article: Hertfordshire self-weigh clinics
(2023-24)

Service User Experience

82%

of Health for Under 5s visitors said the information helped them

(2023-24)

Where Visitors Came From

  • Search engines
  • Direct
  • NHS Provider websites

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