Information for Health and Care Professionals about our innovative services across Cheshire East, Knowsley, St Helens and Wirral.
Structured around the national Healthy Child Programme our services provide inclusive support for children, young people and their families. Support begins during pregnancy and continues until the child reaches the age of 19 or up to 25 if the young personal has Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Antenatal visits, educational classes and resources are available across Cheshire East, Knowsley, St Helens and Wirral. Additional tailored support is also available for families if needed.
Structured around practical skills and support, our educational classes help parents to think about the development of their unborn baby and the first few weeks after birth.
Working alongside local partners our infant feeding teams provide dedication advice, support and training to healthcare professionals to ensure a high standard of care for pregnant women and breastfeeding mums and their babies. Our teams also provided tailored support to local breastfeeding mums and their babies.
Our partners include Koala Northwest in Wirral and Cherubs in Cheshire East.
Starting school is a big milestone for children. Lots of children make the move to reception class smoothly and enjoy the beginning of their next chapter, but for some, the transition can be more difficult. Our team supports parents, carers and their children every step of the way.
The integrated developmental reviews at 2- 21/2 years undertaken in partnership with early years settings allows our team to assess the child’s developmental needs and identify those who may require additional support to ensure they are as ready as they can be to start school.
Our central advice line ensures that parents and young people can access telephone advice and support at a convenient time for them. Our phone lines are open Monday – Friday, 9.00am – 5.00pm.
Referrals via the advice line are triaged and allocated to locality teams as quickly as possible.
The advice line is manned by the Duty Team who also respond to social media messages and our ChatHealth text messaging service.
ChatHealth is a confidential NHS approved, text messaging service for young people aged 11-19. Delivered by our School Nurses young people can access a range of advice and support around:
ChatHealth allows our School Nurses to answer questions from young people and offer confidential support and advice talking through the different options available. The service enables our School Nurses to build effective and trusting relationships with young people.
Young people can text a School Nurse via:
Our response to COVID-19 encouraged us to look at alternative ways to provide high quality care to our families and communities. We are now able to offer virtual appointments through the use of technology which means we can keep our families and staff safe whilst still providing all elements of our service.
Families have found this service extremely supportive and reassuring. Young people have told us that they like being able to access confidential support from the comfort of their own home.
This video feedback intervention offered to new mums who may be struggling with their emotional health which may affect their bond with their baby. It is a relationship-based intervention, delivered by highly skilled Health Visitors, helping parents become more attuned to their child’s emotional needs. Its aim is to improve communication through sharing video clips of mum and baby’s interaction using a client centred approach.
Our teams have set up a number of dedicated Facebook pages to support parents, carers and young people.
This support is provided by our Infant Feeding Specialists, Health Visitors, School Nurses and Speech and Language Assistants and Therapists.
Facebook pages and closed groups include:
Partnerships include:
Partners/subcontracts Wirral:
This group represents the voice of young people across Wirral and Cheshire East and enables our organisation to co-design, co-develop and co-evaluate sustainable services that support the health and wellbeing of young people.
We have over 20 active members, aged 13-19, who meet regularly via face-to-face meetings and more recently via online platforms. We also communicate via closed groups on social media.
The group offers young people the opportunity to work with NHS services, whilst receiving great experience and developmental opportunities.
Hear from some of our members on Vimeo:
Despite COVID restrictions, the health assessment staff, have been fantastic in getting the results of the SDQ reports and getting the correct departments to engage with the children, they are to be applauded for their work with the children in care. They have really pulled it out of the bag, they are great.
(Health Visiting Service)
My name is Paul and I am 19. Kate has supported me since I was 17 - I was on a child protection plan. Kate helped me get a flat, employment, support for my nan and helped me get my national insurance number. She also helped with my mental health. I couldn’t have done this without Kate she is a valued member of our circle.
(Enhanced Team)
We attended the 0-19 Wellbeing Hub with my 6 year-old son. I was really impressed with the service as a whole, not only were we seen in minutes of arriving, the staff were really friendly, understanding and empathic but most importantly they were responsive to our situation and started to help and support my son straight away. Couldn’t recommend this service more highly.
(0-19 Wellbeing Hub)
Thank you for listening to me and helping me.
(Advice line)
I told her things I’d not been able to tell anyone before, we made a plan together and it was all specific to our needs. She listened, was patient and always smiled.
(VIG)
For more information about any of our services please call 0151 514 0219.
