Welcome to the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Health Visiting Service
Our Health Visiting teams are made up of:
- Health Visitors (nurses with a specialist qualification in Health Visiting)
- Registered Nurses
- Family Health Workers, and
- Best Start in Life Practitioners
We work closely with your midwife and GP, as well as other health and Council colleagues, such as your local Family Hub. This is to provide support to your family.
You will be given a Personal Child Health Record (PCHR) by your midwife when you are in hospital. This has a red cover and is known as the Red Book. Your Health Visitor will need to see this when they visit you after your baby is born. They will call to arrange a time and date to suit you.
You can find more information from the Health Visiting Service on our website at: www.cornwall.gov.uk/yourpregnancy. Our website includes a lot of useful information including:
- a Health and Wellbeing section which has information from pregnancy and birth
- maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle for you and your family
- our popular antenatal Bump to Baby presentation
- the free Solihull Parenting Programme with its antenatal section
Breastfeeding Support
We can help you if you need help with breastfeeding.
We have several Peer Support groups and drop ins sessions. These are friendly and provide non-judgemental feeding information and support for parents before and after their baby is born. You can:
- View our web pages: www.cornwall.gov.uk/breastfeeding
- Join our Facebook group: Breastfeeding Peer Support in Cornwall
- Email us: breastfeeding@cornwall.gov.uk
We work with local businesses to support our Breastfeeding Welcome scheme. This is aimed at cafes, restaurants and other venues. It gives them the chance to show that they welcome and support new mums who want to breastfeed.
New dads can download our DadPad app for free from the App Store or Google Play. You can also access it at DadPad.uk on Facebook.
Health Visitor Contacts
Routine Health Visitor contacts will include:
- a new birth visit following after your midwife
- when your baby is 6-8 weeks
- 1 year (between 9 and 10 months)
- 2 years of age (between 24 and 30 months)
Extra contacts and visits are offered if needed. We can provide support with:
- growth or development issues
- emotional health and wellbeing
- health concerns, feeding, sleep
- any other queries you may have in relation to your baby and family’s health
You can find out more on our Health and Development Contacts page.
Clinics and appointments
We provide baby clinics and appointments from our Family Hubs in your local area. Your Health Visitor will give you details of any drop-in baby clinics in your area once your baby is born. We also offer Health Visitor support by telephone, virtual clinics and home visits.
Start for Life
Every family wants to give their child the best start in life and we are here to support you to do this. Every family is different. Our Start for Life offer provides trusted help, advice and support from a range of services on your parenting journey from pregnancy until your child is two.
Some services are available for all families. Some are for more specialist support. Some services are targeted to those who need them.
Find out more at: www.cornwall.gov.uk/startforlife
Health Advice
0-19 Health Advice Line
A quick and easy way for young people and parents / carers to contact Health Visitors and School Nurses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. It is part of our 0-19 Health Advice Line.
There are three advice lines available to text. Two are specific to parents / carers. The other is dedicated support for young people.
- Young people aged 11-19: Text 07312 263 096
- Parents / carers of children aged 0-5: Text 07312 263 423
- Parents / carers of children and young people aged 5-19: Text 07312 263 499
How it works
You can send us a text message, anonymously if you wish, to Health Visiting and School Nursing to get confidential help and advice about a range of health concerns, including:
- sleep
- child development
- support with behaviour
- toileting and continence
- feeding and nutrition
- immunisations
- keeping safe and healthy
- childhood illnesses and support with medical conditions at school
- emotional, mental health and wellbeing
- relationships
- smoking and vaping
- drugs and alcohol
When to text
The text messaging service is available Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays) from 9am to 5pm. When a text message is sent to the numbers, an automated reply confirms the message has been received. A qualified nurse will reply to the message during within 48 office hours.
If you prefer to telephone or email the advice line, you can contact us at:
- Telephone: 01872 324261
- Email: hvsnadvice@cornwall.gov.uk
Please note that this is not an emergency service. Urgent health advice should be sought from an NHS walk-in centre or by calling NHS 111. In an emergency, dial 999 or go to A&E.
Posters for download and printing
The posters below are available for download to display in your premises:
- Health advice poster - age 0-19 - all numbers
- Health advice poster - Young People age 11-19
- Heath advice poster - Parentline age 0-5
- Health advice poster - Parentline age 5-19
About ChatHealth
The text service is part of ChatHealth. It is used by several NHS Trusts and healthcare organisations across the UK. It was developed by 2013 by an NHS Trust to offer more choice in how people can get help from local trained health staff in their area. In other areas where it is used young people say they feel more comfortable talking about their issues in a discreet message, whilst parents and carers say messaging is more convenient way to ask quick questions.
