What they can offer

Health Visitors, being one of the few professionals regularly visiting families with young children, can offer advice and support regarding accident prevention both inside and outside the home.

Statutory Duties

Health Visitors as part of their role have a professional duty as laid down by the local NHS Trust to advise and support parents and families on topics of accident prevention and safety. This is carried out routinely and opportunistically and is made relevant to the individual childs physical, mental, social and emotional development, as well as the family circumstances.

Some Health Visitors have a remit for working with older people, and would offer advice pertinent to home and personal safety.

Resources and Information

Health Visitors routinely offer literature to highlight safety messages e.g. Safety and Your Child Leaflets. Health Visitors may undertake accident prevention initiatives/projects to raise awareness of accidents in various groups in the community.

In some areas Liaison Health Visitors working via Accident and Emergency Departments and Childrens Wards will participate in both collecting statistics on accidents in childhood and with initiatives to raise awareness of safety and accident prevention.