Worried parents have a new out-of-hours hotline to query health issues with their little ones.
A ‘dial a health visitor’ service has been launched for mums and dads of children under five years old.
The new telephone advice service runs from Monday to Friday between 5pm and 8pm.
Health visitors from Locala will be on the lines to support and advise families on a variety of issues including crying, feeding, teething and can even arrange for their own health visitors to contact them the next day.
Linda McKeon, of Lockwood, called the helpline when her four-month-old baby Delilah was crying and wouldn’t settle after her feed.
“It was very worrying and she seemed to be in a lot of pain,” said the new mum.
“I thought it was just wind but I wasn’t sure and really needed some help and support. It was brilliant to have someone to talk to.”
The helpline was piloted at the end of 2014 and is now being rolled out across the whole of Kirklees.
The pilot study showed two thirds of callers who rang the service after 5pm would have accessed other health services including a GP, Walk-In Centre, 111 or A&E had a health visitor not been on hand to help.
Locala’s health visiting manager Maria Collins said: “This is all about improving our service for families. A quick call to us can provide reassurance and save hours of worry or avoid a call to 111 or a visit to the Walk In Centre or A&E.”
If you’d like to talk to a health visitor Monday to Friday between 5pm and 8pm call 0303 330 9588.
