The government has announced a new health visitor taskforce to oversee implementation of its four-year strategy to expand the workforce by 4200.
The move to bolster leadership on the programme follows concerns that the appointments are being delayed due to budget pressures. A recent survey by
Nursing Times found a third of primary care trusts had no plans to commission extra posts during 2011-12.
The 15-strong taskforce will be chaired by former midwife and health visitor Dame Elizabeth Fradd, also on the committee are: NMC chief executive Dickon Weir-Hughes, RCN general secretary and chief executive Peter Carter and honorary chair of the Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association Lord Victor Adebowale.
Public health minister Anne Milton said: ‘The new national Health Visitor Taskforce will provide strong leadership and ensure the new health visiting service model is universally adopted by 2015.’
Dame Fradd said she was ‘pleased’ to be chairing the taskforce, adding ‘the roles of health visitors, as well as nurses and midwives, are crucial to the improvement of the health and wellbeing of children and their families, as well as the communities in which they live’.
The taskforce was announced as the
Department for Education launched ‘
Families in the foundation years’ on 18 July, which sets out its vision to improve services for children and parents in the early years, which includes the crucial role health visitors and midwives play from the start.
