Building trust and helping families.. it's all in a day's work for Health Visitor Jemma Scott
Day-to-day I work with families with under-fives but once a month I go out with interpreters in Cliftonville, Margate, meeting people that might struggle to come to us. I started working with the Roma community during the pandemic, when we realised there was a lot of concern about the vaccine. Those families were some of the most vulnerable, living in houses with multiple families and working in conditions that meant they were more likely to catch and become ill with Covid, so it was even more important for them to have the vaccine.
I found out more about the barriers they faced and what their health needs were through this work. It was the start of my work looking at the health inequalities the community faces.
Many of them don’t have a GP, struggle to speak English and often can’t read. This impacts all areas of their family’s lives – they struggle to apply for nursery or school places. The health and education systems in the UK are completely different to where they have come from so they are often unaware of what’s available for them to access.
I applied for funding last year from charity, Save the Children and ran a drop-in, where we offered families support and health advice, alongside free fruit and vegetables. This ran for six months and really helped us build connections and trust with local families. It also allowed us to speak to parents about important things like their toddler's diet or how important it is to brush their teeth. Using the funding, we gave out small appliances, like soup and smoothie makers to help families who couldn’t afford it on their own. Since the drop-in ended, I’ve gone out and about in Cliftonville and met more families and set up a weekly healthy child clinic at the children’s centre to offer help and advice. I support around 10 families on my outreach day in the Roma community.
I’ve had a mum stop me in the street to show me her child’s eczema that looked so sore. She was so worried there would be a social services intervention because of her child’s skin. Reaching out and saying to parents we are here to help them and their children and to break down those barriers is so important.
I worked with the local primary care network and we now have one ‘safe’ GP surgery in Margate, that you can register at without identification or proof of permanent address, which is really beneficial for those who struggle living in multiple occupancy homes with bills often included in rent.
On a typical day we’ll visit parents like Vaselina with her six-month-old baby to see how they are getting on. Her son was born in the UK after the family moved from Bulgaria. We also go door-to-door talking to families with children like Boyan and his father Ilan. Boyan’s nursery had raised a concern about his speech and we spoke to his father about whether they’d like him to have extra support. A sexual health nurse is coming to offer cervical screening, so I reminded all the women I saw today to come along for their test. I hope the families trust me and will be more willing to take that advice and support.
I was so pleased to be recognised with a quality improvement award at the KCHFT staff awards this year, as this highlights the communities’ needs and what we can do to reach out and help them.
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