For Professionals

Referrals to Health Visiting service
 
If you would like to refer/discuss a child or family, please contact the Health Visiting team directly.  If you’re not sure which is the correct team, you can contact the 0-19 Single Point of Contact team on 020 3074 2650 (or email at whh-tr.0-19haringey@nhs.net).

Parent Infant Psychology Service (PIPS)

PIPS is an NHS service for parents and their infants in Haringey whose primary focus is to promote positive parent-infant relationships and support parents’ emotional well-being during their children’s infancies. When a professional is concerned about a parent or infant, please discuss the case with the child’s Health Visitor Duty Desk to let them know of your concerns. We would then ask the Health Visitor to investigate and offer support before filling out a referral to PIPS if they think it appropriate.

MECSH

The Health Visiting service is now delivering the MECSH programme for families in Haringey. Please see information about the programme below and how to refer families to us who you think may be eligible.

What is MECSH?

The Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting (MECSH) programme is a structured program of home visiting for families which was developed in Australia.
 
MECSH provides personalised professional support for you and your family as you transition into parenthood and as your baby grows and develops. Supporting you from pregnancy until your baby is 2 years old.
 
You work with your Health visitor to create a plan for you and your baby’s needs. The same health visitor will continue to visit except for the times when they may be away, then another health visitor will help out.
 
This programme is tailored to improve outcomes for families working from prevention and early intervention framework.
 
MECSH is a voluntary programme and if you change your mind at any time, you can withdraw.

Why MECSH?

MECSH Is a high-quality evidence-based health visitor led structured intervention which has five core elements:
 
  • Supporting mother and child health and wellbeing, including observation and support of child, maternal and family health and development, parent-infant interaction, and provision of primary health care and health education.
  • Supporting mothers to be future oriented and aspirational for themselves, their child and family.
  • Supporting family and social relationships within the extended family, with the family’s communities and with other health and social services.
  • Additional support in response to need including interventions by the health visitor as well as including children centres, Speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, housing, mental health, dental care, social care, child care.  [ additional support accessed through the tiered service system. ]
  • Child development parent education program delivery. This is a structured program of parent education about child development.

How many visits will I receive?

Visits will usually start during pregnancy or after your baby is born.
 
Our Health Visitor will visit you regularly until baby is 12 weeks old and agree a schedule of visits that works for you until your child celebrates their 2nd birthday.

What happens during a home visit?

At each visit you will have the opportunity to talk with your health visitor about how things are going, and when the baby arrives how your baby is growing and developing.
 
The health visitor will provide information about how to care for your baby and how to play and talk with your baby to help them grow and learn. They will support you to identify and plan for your baby’s needs, your needs and your families needs.
 
Each visit will usually last around 1 hour.
 
The health visitor may take photos or videos with your permission.
 
You will be asked to give anonymous feedback at various stages of the programme delivery. Your health Visitor will give you a QR code to scan at the various contact points.
 
If your health visitor does not offer you the MECSH programme, do not worry. All the health visitors also incorporate some of the MECSH elements into all contacts.
 
For more information, please see the MECSH leaflet for families.

How to refer a family?

If you are a professional and identify a family who you believe could benefit from the MECSH programme or you are a parent/carer and would be interested in finding out more, please contact the local Health Visiting team. We will then assess the family and make contact to offer the programme if appropriate. Ideally women/parents will be enrolled on to the programme in the antenatal period but can be enrolled up until the baby is 8 weeks old (older if baby is premature and in hospital.
 
Parents eligible for MECSH include:
 
  • Young parents
  • Safeguarding concerns - prebirth concerns, CP plans, CIN or a family where an older child has a CP plan
  • Domestic Violence and abuse, current or past experience
  • Maternal and family mental health concerns
  • Parents requiring enhanced support e.g., a parent with a learning disability
  • Attachment/bonding /emotional warmth concerns
  • Substance misuse in the family - alcohol/drugs
  • Adverse Childhood experiences (ACE) including history of being a LAC child
  • Contextual Safeguarding concerns e.g., older child excluded from school

This list is not exhaustive. The eligibility criteria will be used in conjunction with HV/parental discussion and the Adapt and Self Manage tool either antenatally or postnatally.

Page last updated: 18 Jan 2023
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