Early Start Charnwood – Early Intervention Health Visiting Programme

What Does Our Service Do?

Early Start Charnwood is an early intervention programme for vulnerable first time parents living in Loughborough. Issues our parents face may include teenage pregnancy, mental health problems, learning difficulties, substance misuse and homelessness.

The programme aims to break the cycle of deprivation to improve the outcomes for children and their parents. Our specialist team of health visitors and family outreach workers provide intensive support and encouragement to families with a range of complex needs. We work to improve parenting capacity and confidence as well as children’s physical, emotional, economic and social wellbeing.

Early Start is fully integrated into health visiting and children’s centre programmes and runs from the antenatal period through to the child’s second birthday.

How Does Our Service Work?

The Early Start team can offer first time expectant parents with additional health or social needs, extra support through a programme of sustained and frequent home visits and groups (if appropriate).

We can help you with parenting issues, building your confidence as new parents, helping you to understand your child’s development stages and how you can best meet your baby’s physical, emotional, economic and social wellbeing needs.

We can also offer support with accessing the children’s centre programmes and referrals to other agencies that can support you with housing, debt advice and general health and wellbeing.

The team is composed of an Early Start Coordinator and two Early Start Health Visitors and family Outreach worker. The programme is offered in Loughborough and we have a maximum caseload of 53 families due to the intensive support required.

Our team is co- located at Loughborough Hospital, Bradgate Ward and Shelthorpe Children’s Centre. We deliver our service through home visits, sure starts, connexions and hospital contacts

How Can You Access Our Service?

To access our service you can:

Be referred by your Community Midwife/specialist midwife/health visitor or other agency. Speak to any other healthcare professional involved in your care for referral to our co-ordinator for assessment.
Early Start Programme of support is voluntary and for first time parents.