‘Full blown’ health visitor crisis?

The dramatic fall in health visitors has reached a new low NHS data shows, prompting calls for an urgent recruitment drive to bring ailing services back to health.

Responding to NHS Digital figures showing there were just 7,694 health visitors at the beginning of 2019 in England – a 25 per cent drop since 2015 when health visitor numbers reached a record high of 10,309 – Unite called for action to avoid “a full blown crisis”.

Health visitor numbers began falling steadily in 2015 following the transference of service commissioning from the NHS to local government.

Local authority health budgets have been cut over the ensuing period, with funding from central government going from ÂŁ3.4bn in 2016-17 to ÂŁ3.134bn this year.

Additionally, places for health visitor students fell by 22 per cent in 2015, Local Government Association figures show.

The latest NHS Digital figures for health visitors are the lowest since September 2012.

The government said the number of health visitors could be higher because the NHS Digital figures did not include those employed in primary care.

However Unite professional officer Obi Amadi accused the government of cutting services “crucial to the health and wellbeing of young families” to the bone and running them on a shoestring.

Amadi said, “The only reason services haven’t collapsed is because of the hard work and dedication of health visitors, many of whom are being pushed to the limit because of the impossible demands placed on them.

“Despite their best efforts the gaps in services are widening with vulnerable children and families paying the price.

“The government needs to invest urgently to bring the service back from the brink and stem the flow of skilled and experienced staff leaving because of unmanageable workloads.

“A major drive to train and recruit new health visitors and a significant injection of funds is the only way to avert a full-blown crisis.”