Putting a face on the fight against coronavirus
13 May 2020
New mums, babies and infants attending health clinics in Telford & Wrekin are being welcomed by the friendly faces of Health Visitors.
To protect patients and stop the spread of Covid-19, staff from the Healthy Child Programme – run by Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (Shropcom) - are delivering health clinics wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
But Health Visitors are ensuring everyone feels comfortable by printing posters with their face and name, so people can see clearly who they are talking to. The posters are being displayed at every Health Visitor clinic in Telford & Wrekin.
Health Visitor Michelle Ostrowski was inspired to create the posters to improve patient experience. Michelle and her colleagues felt their PPE was preventing new mums and other service users from seeing their faces, and could also be seen as intimidating for babies and infants.
Michelle said: “We must wear the PPE to save lives and help stop the spread of Covid-19. However, this can be quite daunting for people.
“We always aim to provide a warm, safe and supportive environment at our health clinics. We want people to feel as comfortable as possible and we hope this small gesture will make people feel a little more at ease.
“Each poster is displayed next to a member of staff for people can see who they are talking to.”
Shropcom is now planning to introduce the posters at its Health Visitor clinics in Shropshire as well, where it runs a similar service.
The Trust’s clinics offer support and advice to families on a variety of topics which include promotion and management of infant feeding and breastfeeding, caring for a new baby in the early weeks, emotional health and well-being, parenting programmes and putting parents in touch with a variety of specialist services that can support them and their child's healthy development.
The Healthy Child Programme Service in Telford provides a wide range of universal services for families from pregnancy to age 19, including Health Visiting, the Family Nurse Partnership, School Nurses and support staff.
But Health Visitors are ensuring everyone feels comfortable by printing posters with their face and name, so people can see clearly who they are talking to. The posters are being displayed at every Health Visitor clinic in Telford & Wrekin.
Health Visitor Michelle Ostrowski was inspired to create the posters to improve patient experience. Michelle and her colleagues felt their PPE was preventing new mums and other service users from seeing their faces, and could also be seen as intimidating for babies and infants.
Michelle said: “We must wear the PPE to save lives and help stop the spread of Covid-19. However, this can be quite daunting for people.
“We always aim to provide a warm, safe and supportive environment at our health clinics. We want people to feel as comfortable as possible and we hope this small gesture will make people feel a little more at ease.
“Each poster is displayed next to a member of staff for people can see who they are talking to.”
Shropcom is now planning to introduce the posters at its Health Visitor clinics in Shropshire as well, where it runs a similar service.
The Trust’s clinics offer support and advice to families on a variety of topics which include promotion and management of infant feeding and breastfeeding, caring for a new baby in the early weeks, emotional health and well-being, parenting programmes and putting parents in touch with a variety of specialist services that can support them and their child's healthy development.
The Healthy Child Programme Service in Telford provides a wide range of universal services for families from pregnancy to age 19, including Health Visiting, the Family Nurse Partnership, School Nurses and support staff.
Next review due: 1 September 2020