A coalition of children’s charities has issued a warning that England’s health visiting system will not be able to cope with the challenges brought by Covid 19.
The claim was made after a survey of 5000 families carried out by a consortium of charities including NSPCC, the Institute of Health Visiting, Home Start UK, Parent Infant Foundation and Best Beginnings. The survey found that:
NHS services have been making digital appointments but respondents claim these were inadequate and sometimes humiliating and privacy invading.
The charities have written an open letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock calling for health visiting services to be prioritised also pointing out the concern that these services were already under funded prior to the pandemic.