NHS Health Visitors

12. What steps his Department is taking to improve the provision of NHS health visitors.

Health visitors play a vital role in supporting babies, children and families. Under the previous Government, the number of health visitors fell significantly, which is why this Government have taken action. The upcoming professional strategy for nursing and midwifery will set out a bold direction of travel to strengthen health visiting across England. We have already made improvements with all post-birth health and development reviews now completed for over 80% of children nationally, which is the highest level since recording began.

I recently gave evidence to Baroness Amos’s national maternity inquiry, sharing the trauma that my wife and I endured. Even as she carried her own burden after the birth, she was my rock, but the NHS was not. I was invisible. No one asked about me and I was left to carry it alone for months. Will the Minister please ensure that health visitors recognise dads and other non-birthing partners, check in on their mental health, and help them to access support so that no more dads are forgotten when families need them the most?

I thank my hon. Friend for being so brave and willing to share his and his wife’s birth trauma, and to talk about the lack of support afterwards, not just with Baroness Amos and her review but with the House today. I know personally how hard it is to do that, but I also know the huge difference it can make to Government policy. I am happy to commit to him today that the Government will absolutely look closely at all the findings in Baroness Amos’s review, and work with the national maternity taskforce to translate the recommendations into action. I am also pleased to confirm that we have recently updated our national health visiting guidance to include a high impact area on family mental health, with a clear focus on supporting both mothers and fathers.

It is not just the number of health visitors that needs to be improved. Women report to me that they have skipped appointments due to negative experiences with health visitors, especially around breastfeeding. Will the Minister commit to improving the training of health visitors, so that women receive the best quality care?

Yes, I will. We are busy working on the 10-year workforce plan. The training of all the NHS workforce, including health visitors, is a big part of that. In my new position as public health and prevention Minister, I am particularly interested in the work of health visitors, especially with regard to supporting rates of breastfeeding. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the results of the breastfeeding survey were released last week and they showed substantial improvement.