A CAMPAIGN for nearly 400 more health visitors has been launched across Yorkshire and the Humber.

As part of the Coalition Government’s commitment to double the number of health visitors across the UK, postcards and posters are being sent out to GP surgeries, universities and SureStart centres across the region to encourage recruitment.

The NHS campaign which aims to see 394 health visitors added to the Yorkshire and Humber roster by 2015, is likely to see an extra 88 within the NHS Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield cluster.

The cluster is responsible for overseeing care in all three areas.

NHS Yorkshire and Humber were unable to provide figures of how many would be directly introduced into Kirklees.

Currently 98 health visitors are employed by the Kirklees Local Community Partnership.

Qualified nurses and midwives are at the heart of the campaign and will be encouraged to become health visitors.

Chief nurse at NHS Yorkshire and the Humber, David Thompson said: “Helping babies and children to start life in a healthy way, and to stay healthy throughout adulthood, is top of our agenda in the NHS.

“We are looking for qualified nurses and midwives who are interested in working with children and families to take up fully-funded training opportunities at a number of universities in the region.