Category

• Promising Local Practice

---

Poverty impact

• Reduction

---

Poverty driver

• Provide benefit in-kind (experience)
• Increase employment income

---

Keywords

• Childcare.
• Education.
• Employability & Employment.
• Family support.
• Training for Employment.

Aim

To provide families with appropriate and timely support to develop and enhance employment prospects. Each client’s journey is unique, and we aim to work together to remove barriers and progress individuals on their route to employment.

Summary

NHS Lanarkshire’s Health Visitors Employability Routine Enquiry project embeds employment support into Universal Health Visiting Pathway.
Recognising the link between financial stability and family wellbeing, health visitors ask parents about their current work status and future aspirations during postnatal home visits.
Through identifying potential barriers at this stage, the project aims to provide the family with viable employment pathways through direct referral to specialist employability services. This collaborative approach aims to address child poverty and associated negative health outcomes before crisis events occur. Supporting families holistically, the project provides families with the potential for long term economic stability and may improve health outcomes for the entire family unit.

What difference does it make?

Raised awareness in NHS staff of the barriers to employment and in work poverty faced by many parents.

Key take-aways

• Motivated staff having working knowledge of the Financial Inclusion Pathway.
• Strong partnership with Routes to Work helped significantly in establishing the project as a viable option through which parents could access routes to employment.
• Strong relationships were built between families and staff through open communication. This helped to build trust in the project.

 

Organisations

• NHS Lanarkshire. • Routes to Work North Lanarkshire.

Location

NHS Health Visiting Teams operating across North Lanarkshire.

Contact