Telford & Wrekin Council – NHS Baby LifeCheck in libraries – Elly Willoughby
As the project manager for NHS Baby LifeCheck in Telford & Wrekin, I am based within the library service. This project has created a great opportunity for partnership working in Telford & Wrekin between the PCT, Library Services and Children’s Centres.
I involve as many relevant local service providers as possible. I do a lot of work in our local Children’s Centres as this is an excellent place to reach parents and carers in an environment where they feel comfortable and supported. I acquired a laptop and mobile internet so that parents and carers can complete a Baby LifeCheck whilst at their regular sessions. This has proved to be a great asset as users respond very favourably to the tool and often enter into discussions with other members of the group on topics featured within NHS Baby LifeCheck. I also run Bounce ‘n’ Rhyme sessions in our libraries; each session offers the opportunity to complete a Baby LifeCheck on our computers with free internet access along with singing, rhymes and bouncing fun. These are regular sessions allowing parents and carers to build a relationship of trust with our services over time.
I regularly place articles in the local papers and parish magazines about NHS Baby LifeCheck and library activities for parents/carers and their babies to get the word out as widely as possible. There is also an NHS Baby LifeCheck presence on the council website with a user-friendly URL (www.telford.gov.uk/babylifecheck); an NHS Baby LifeCheck screensaver on all library computers; a new leaflet for parents and carers promoting NHS Baby LifeCheck and relevant library services; and an ongoing prize draw for any parent or carer who has completed an NHS Baby LifeCheck to win a fantastic selection of books to enjoy with their baby.
I attend as many local events as I can that may provide the opportunity to reach more parents and carers. These have recently included the Festival of Learning (organised by the Lifelong Learning team); The Big Draw (a wonderfully successful collaborative day to celebrate and encourage drawing and crafts amongst young people with 450 people attending); and one of the local Christmas Fairs. I often attend these with a display about NHS Baby LifeCheck and the Library Service. I also take a range of books and share stories with children, parents and carers. The displays always have a practical element to illustrate some of the advice given through NHS Baby LifeCheck. I try to give people practical and interesting examples of ways to interact with their baby using books, songs and rhymes to illustrate the messages in Talking & Playing Together. This enhances and encourages both the use and merits of Baby LifeCheck and a practical engagement with library services. I also try to get the word out to local health information providers who act as advocates for NHS Baby LifeCheck and myself, signposting other professionals to what I can offer them. An example of this is the excellent work done by CHEC (Community Health and Enterprise Centre) and their Health Shop which provides a huge amount of health information to the public and professionals.
Being based within the library service I have the advantage of working with library staff. Libraries are used more and more by the public as a one-stop-shop to gain a wide range of information, therefore library staff are responsible for exchanging this information and signposting users to many different services. Getting your local libraries involved in NHS Baby LifeCheck is an excellent way of reaching more people; practically engaging with the information given by the health tool; and getting other services involved. It is also worth contacting your local Bookstart administrator as part of their role is to encourage the healthy development of children through nurturing a love of books and reading – one of the foundations of a healthy, happy baby.
In Telford & Wrekin, NHS Baby LifeCheck is about building sustainable networks between parents, carers, babies, health services, library services, children’s services and any other service that may provide parents and carers with the help and support that they require. So far I have met with 36 families with babies aged between 5-8 months; the www.telford.gov.uk/babylifecheck page has had 162 individual visitors since September; and I have conformed 29 visits to various venues between January and March so it’s set to be a busy start to the New Year!