Community Public Health
Student placements in community public health

Health visiting teams may consist of health visitors, community public health nurses, community nursery nurses, family health workers and community clerical officers. They work in partnership with local GP practices and children’s centre staff. They visit families in their own homes, facilitate community based groups and run clinics in health centres and community settings. Health visitors are in a unique position to deliver government policies in relation to the public health agenda, working in partnership with families, education, social care and other allied professionals to assess for health needs and facilitate early intervention. Health visitors are ideally placed to provide ongoing support, playing a key role in bringing together relevant local services to help families with continuing complex needs, for example where a child has a long-term condition.
Health visitors offer universal core services to all families with children under five years old and targeted support to families with additional needs such as post-natal depression, substance misuse, domestic abuse, teenage parents and those living in disadvantaged circumstances. This way of working is set out by the Healthy Child Programme (Department of Health, 2009) and the 4-5-6 Model of Health Visiting (Department of Health, 2015). Health visitors work in partnership with families and communities to improve access, experience and outcomes and to reduce health inequalities. They consider individual community needs including asylum seekers, travelling communities, religious and culturally diverse groups.
This setting will provide a wide range of opportunities for the student to complete the learning criteria across all the domains.
The student will have the opportunity to develop his/her communication skills to a high level in order to promote therapeutic, reciprocal relationships with families.
The school nursing service delivers the universal healthy child programme 5 - 19 to improve health outcomes for the school aged population. The team works in partnership with children, young people and their families as well as other professionals and agencies to ensure that children's health needs are being met and supported within their school and local community The healthy child programme is aimed at children, young people and families to focus on early intervention and prevention. Therefore, the school nursing service aims to:
This setting will provide a wide range of opportunities for the student to complete the learning criteria across all the domains.