Family Nursing and Home Care offer virtual child health clinics for parents

Family Nursing and Home Care (FNHC) have created a virtual Child Health Clinic to replace the health clinics which parents would normally visit, which are run by the organisation’s health visitors, and provide advice and reassurance for parents in Jersey.

From today (Monday 20 April 2020) parents and carers who would normally access the Child Health Clinics run across the island, can instead call or email a health visitor for advice, despite the ongoing situation with Coronavirus.

Michelle Cumming, Operational Lead for Child and Family Services at FNHC said: “We know that this can be a worrying time for families and that services are working differently at the moment.

“This includes the current suspension of child health clinics run by health visitors from Family Nursing and Home Care where parents can normally seek advice and support or signposting for a range of issues.

“So, we’re replacing the clinics with a dedicated phone line, and parents and carers can also email us. The clinics we run normally are well supported and we know how valuable parents find them as a touchpoint for face-to-face help and advice. We hope that while we have to work differently, they’ll find the option of phoning us or emailing us reassuring.”

Like the health clinics, the phone line and email will be able to provide advice on:

• child growth and development
• nutrition and feeding including breastfeeding
• support and helpful links for parenting
• sleep routines
• a fretful or unsettled baby
• toilet training
• behaviour management
• health information such as Immunisations
• any concerns a parent may have regarding their child or themselves
• parent and infant mental and emotional well-being including postnatal depression

The clinics will focus upon the age range birth to five years but may be able to signpost to other services for older children too.

During this period, the FNHC health visitors can be contacted on telephone 01534 443674 or email at Enquiries@fnhc.org.je

The times of the phoneline for the Child Health Clinics are Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4 pm.

Michelle added: “We would also remind parents and carers that despite the Coronavirus situation, it’s really important that if a child is seriously ill, they are taken to the Emergency Department at the Hospital. If a situation is less serious, but a child needs medical attention, a GP appointment should made as normal, or the out of hours GP can consulted at the weekends or in the evenings.”

Family Nursing and Home Care stress that this offer does not replace the essential work being undertaken by The Child and Family Hub or the need to contact the Covid 19 helpline on 445566 where necessary.

More details about the Child and Family Hub and the Coronavirus helpline can be found on www.gov.je/coronavirus