Health Visiting during COVID-19 and beyond: the impact on children and families Local Government Association webinar: Supporting the development of babies and young children during the COVID-19 outbreak Thursday, 23 rd July 2020 Alison Morton Director of Policy and Quality, Institute of Health Visiting
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Health Visiting during COVID-19 and beyond: the …...Health Visiting during COVID-19 and beyond: the impact on children and families Local Government Association webinar: Supporting
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Health Visiting during COVID-19 and beyond: the impact on children and families
Local Government Association webinar: Supporting the development of babies and young children during the COVID-19 outbreak
Thursday, 23rd July 2020
Alison Morton Director of Policy and Quality, Institute of Health Visiting
• Other contacts to be assessed and stratified for vulnerable or clinical need (e.g. maternal mental health)
Advice from PHE,
“The presumption should be that all contacts will be virtual – using video-enabled technology or, failing that, telephone contacts. There will need to be an individual assessment of compelling need for face to face contacts at home and then decisions re PPE”.
Increased need/ impact:• Mental health – stress and anxiety• Loneliness • Couple conflict• Domestic Violence and Abuse• Alcohol consumption for some groups• Food poverty• Increased unemployment • Child Protection/ Child in Need – “pressure
cooker homes” – safeguarding referrals increased
• Falling immunisation rates – uptake fell by 20% in early weeks – returned to baseline but catch up still needed
Support scaled back
Whilst all families are impacted by COVID-19, the most detrimental effects are being felt by those who are already disadvantaged – in particular, our most vulnerable infants and children whose needs are often hidden from sight.
Groups of vulnerable children dataWhat do we know? (NB groups are not mutually exclusive and there are many groups for which estimates are not available)
CYP who may be at higher risk due to family and social circumstances and may not
be known to services. In England:
• 2m children living in absolute low income
• 40,990 homeless family households
• 27,265 parents* newly presented to specialist drug or alcohol treatment services
• 11,887 first time entrants to the youth justice system
‘Stat-Xplore’ tool, Department for Work and Pensions; Child Health Profiles, PHE; Adult substance misuse statistics
from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System, PHE; Child Health Profiles, PHE
* Also includes unrelated adults living in a household with children
CYP who are at increased risk due to family and socially circumstances where there
is a statutory entitlement for care and support. In England:• 399,510 children in need; 52,260 children the subject of a child protection plan
• 78,150 children in care
• 1.3m pupils with SEN; of these, 271,165 with EHCP/SEN statements
• 132,345 pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder as primary needCharacteristics of children in need: 2018 to 2019;. Children looked after in England (including adoption), year ending 31
March 2019; Special educational needs in England: 2019. Department for Education.
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Data sources and estimates in development
• Revised Shielding list
• Those that have been negatively impacted from delayed presentation
• Those that may have been impacted by delay for planned / elective treatment or
reduced uptake of immunisation and early year support
• CYP with mental health needs will require specific support. Mental health needs may
increase with the duration of the response
Clinically Vulnerable
Higher risk and have statutory entitlement for care and support
Higher risk due to wider determinants of health / other factors leading to
The impact of COVID-19 on the ability of community-based practitioners to keep babies and young children safe [who is keeping the baby in mind?] Preliminary findings (Barlow, 2020)
• Redeployment:• Health visitors had the highest rate of redeployment (compared to
MW and SW)• 1/3 of redeployed practitioners reported inadequate preparation for
the new role• Redeployment to a range of settings - hospitals, district and
community nursing, and adult services
• Critical services were not delivered• HVs concerns regarding the secondary impact of COVID-19
on children and families/ unidentified and unmet need• Cessation of universal visits meant that ‘new’ and
‘increased’ vulnerability not identified; not seen by anyone.
• Significant delivery of services virtually with:• no preparation/training; • no evidence regarding its use with these families; • many families not able to receive care that way; • most wouldn’t use it with vulnerable families going forward
• Changes have had a significant impact on the mental wellbeing of the workforce
Learning from COVID-19It is vital to avoid a blame game, with fear and silence standing in the way of learning and improvement… ‘embracing wholeheartedly an ethic of learning’ in the next phases of the response. Kings Fund, 2020
Our recommendations: • HV services should be reinstated as a matter of urgency as a vital support and safety-net for
children, with appropriate measures put in place, including the use of PPE, to reduce the spread of the virus.
• HV services must be fully prepared for any future waves of COVID-19. NHS England should revise the Community Prioritisation Plan (for phase one pandemic management) and develop clear messages on the importance of continuation of the service to ensure the needs of children are prioritised. This should include removing wording on the redeployment of health visitors.
• A clear workforce plan is needed to ensure that the service has sufficient surge capacity to manage the backlog of missed appointments, as well as demand for support due to the secondary impacts of the pandemic.
• An evaluation of the use of virtual, non face-to-face service delivery methods is urgently needed to determine their effectiveness for identification of vulnerabilities and risks, impact on child and family outcomes and reducing inequalities to inform future digital change.
• A cross-government strategy is needed to reduce inequalities and “level-up” our society - this will require investment to strengthen the HV service which plays a crucial role in the early identification and support of the most disadvantaged families.
• The impact of working during the COVID-19 pandemic on staff wellbeing cannot be underestimated - a proactive plan is needed to ensure staff have the right support during the restoration of services and to create high quality workplaces for all staff in the future.