News
Cutbacks in the number of health visitors mean that the days when every mother received dedicated postnatal care are long gone - But, asks Daloni Carlisle, will latest moves succeed in reversing the trend?
4 Mar 2009
In The Guardian it was reported that NHS Barking and Dagenham in east London have begun the process of recruiting 24 health visitors, a process The Guardian says is "bucking a trend that has seen primary care trusts (PCTs) around the country freeze health visiting posts and cut training places." The PCT has admitted, however, that it is not even sure of filling nine training places in 2009 because there are too few experienced clinical teachers to support students while they learn. This current recruitment drive is in direct response to the fact that the PCT does not have enough health visitors to provide the services that children and families need. The FPI and Unite agree that we need not just more health visitors but better training and a career structure that will attract younger people to what is now an ageing workforce.
(The Guardian, 4 March 2009)
