Growing Healthy Darlington

Growing Healthy Darlington provide 0-5 and 5-19 services to young people and families in the area.

Single Point of contact telephone number: 03000 030013.

The role of the 0-5 Service is to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of children under five and their families. The 5-19 team promotes and protects the health and wellbeing of all children and young people aged 5 to 19.

0-5 Children’s Service

All families with a child under five in Darlington have access to a Growing Healthy 0-5 Team consisting of health visitors, early years practitioners and infant feeding specialists. They provide expert health assessments, advice, support and interventions for babies, children and families.

The team encourages and supports parents and carers to develop life-long skills to enable them to make informed choices that affect their family’s future health and wellbeing.

The team is community-based and is accessible at a range of different venues including the family home, children’s centres and health centres. The service works in partnership with other agencies to ensure all families receive support.

Health Visitors

Health visitors are registered nurses or midwives who have an additional qualification in specialist community public health nursing. They are highly skilled in the assessment and co-ordination of support tailored to individual and family needs

The team aims to help build parents’ confidence in their ability to give their child the best start in life and listen carefully when parents have concerns. It identifies and builds on what is going well, and provides information to help parents find their own solutions to problems where possible.

The Darlington Growing Healthy 0-5 Service offers a programme of:

• Screening tests
• Immunisation advice
• Developmental reviews
• Information and guidance to support parenting and healthy lifestyle choices

Healthy Child Programme (HCP)

The Healthy Child Programme (HCP) is a public health programme for children, young people and families which focuses on early intervention and prevention. The HCP offers a programme of screening tests, immunisations, developmental reviews, information and guidance to support parenting and healthy lifestyle choices.

The Healthy Child Programme contacts include:

  • Antenatal contact
  • New birth visit at 10-14 days
  • Contact at 6-8 weeks
  • Contact at 3-4 months
  • A child health review/development assessment by one year of age
  • A child health review/development assessment by two and a half years of age
  • A child health review/development assessment may be offered between 3-5 years

Some common areas of information and support:

  • Pregnancy and transition into parenthood
  • Infant feeding/ specialist breast feeding support
  • Growth and nutrition
  • Healthy eating
  • Dental health
  • Development
  • Behaviour
  • Accident prevention
  • Safe sleeping
  • Speech and language development
  • Immunisations
  • Common childhood illness/infection
  • Safeguarding
  • Postnatal depression and emotional wellbeing
  • Parenting

Our service is delivered in partnership with a range of health, social and education organisations and teams including:

  • CAMHS
  • Early Help
  • Early Years Education providers
  • GPs/paediatricians
  • School nurses
  • CAP
  • Voluntary sector
  • Sexual Health Services

Child health clinics

Child health clinics are held across Darlington Borough. They are in central points in the community (usually children’s centres or community centres). These clinics are open to all families on a ‘drop in’ basis.

Referral

The service accepts referrals from:

  • Midwifery services
  • GPs and other professionals
  • Self-referral from parents/carers
  • Other statutory and voluntary agencies

Location

We have an administrative base at:

Suite 6, The Beehive
Lingfield Point
Darlington,
DL1 1YN

Opening hours

The Health Visiting Team can be contacted Monday-Friday 9am-5pm excluding bank holidays.

Contact

The Darlington Growing Healthy 0-5 Team central contact number is 03000 030013.

Useful links

5-19 Healthy Child Service

We work with children, young people and families to empower and enable them to make informed decisions about health and to support them in transitioning safely and happily into adult life. The Darlington Growing Healthy 5-19 Team works in community settings to deliver universal and targeted interventions designed to meet public health outcomes. We ensure the emotional and physical health and wellbeing of families, children and young people across Darlington.

We provide a service to all children and young people of school age, and their families, whether or not they are attending school. The service is based on the Healthy Child Programme from 5-19 years old. We offer advice and information and assess health needs on children entering school and on transfer to secondary schools. We are the first point of contact for schools when there are concerns about a child’s health and wellbeing.

We are also responsible for:

      • Measuring and weighing children in reception and year 6 as part of the National Child Measurement Programme
      • Universal screening for vision and audiology for reception children
      • There is a designated Immunisation Team who undertake immunisation and vaccinations
      • Providing first level enuresis (involuntary urination) advice and support
      • Providing emotional health and wellbeing support
      • Supporting children and families with additional health needs or disability
      • Parenting and behavioural problems
      • Risk taking behaviour including drugs and alcohol
      • Stop smoking advice
      • Relationships, sexual health and pregnancy
      • Promoting healthy lifestyles in schools and communities through health education

Specialist advice and support will also be offered to:

Children in need of protection and their families; children and families in need; foster carers and children who are in care.

Growing Healthy Darlington 5-19 Team

The team comprises specialist community public health nurses (School Nurse), community staff nurses , FISCH Team (Family Initiative Supporting Children’s Health) school nurse assistant practitioners, school screeners and health administrators. We have a link named School Nurse for each school and GP Practice in the localities in which we work.

We work closely with Health Visitors so that children and families with complex health and social care needs are identified early. We support the development and implementation of health management plans to promote the child’s health and wellbeing, school attendance, education and attainment.

When young people and families require targeted interventions, these may be provided solely by the School Nursing Team or delivered in partnership.

Location

We work in local schools and a variety of community venues including children’s centres, health and home settings.

We have an administrative base at:

Suite 6, The Beehive
Lingfield Point
Darlington,
DL1 1YN

Referral

We accept referrals from a range of sources including children and young people, parents/carers, schools, other health professionals, GPs, partner agencies, Families First

Consent and Confidentiality

When young people under 16 years of age ask for certain services they are assessed by trained practitioners against Fraser guidelines to determine their level of understanding.

This assessment may be used when you need a prescription for something such as smoking cessation or when you need referring to another service, for example sexual health services.
This assessment does not affect your rights to confidentiality.

Please contact the us for further advice and support.

Contact

Central number: 03000 030013

Useful links

The 5-19 Service is delivered in partnership with a range of health, social and education organisations and teams including: