All Places

Public Health Nursing

The Public Health Nursing Service is made up of the following:

• Integrated Health Visiting and School Nursing Service
• Family Nurse Partnership
• School Immunisation Team
• Breastfeeding Coordinator
• Health Protection Nursing Team
• Safeguarding Children Nurse Specialists
• Looked After Children Nurse
• Behaviour Assessment Service
• Paediatric Continence Nursing Service
• Children’s Health Coordinator

Integrated Health Visiting and School Nursing Services

There are nine integrated health visiting and school nursing teams who work across the Trust in community settings.

The team is made up of health visitors and school nurses who are registered nurses with an additional qualification in child health / development and family health, and specially trained public health nurses and child health assistants.
Health visitors and school nurses deliver the universal Healthy Child Healthy Future Programme by assessing and identifying health needs in partnership with families and communities and helping people to improve their health.
Health visitors and school nurses work in partnership with other professionals, for example, GPs, midwives, teachers, social workers and speech and language therapists. The team can give you information about other services such as parenting programmes or other support groups.

We offer a confidential service and will not discuss your personal information with anyone else without your permission unless to protect you or someone else from serious harm.

Health Visitors

Health Visitors will offer a family centred service from pregnancy until the child goes to school. They offer advice and support on matters such as:

• Parenting & behaviour management
• Nutrition – breastfeeding, bottle feeding, weaning and healthy diets
• Immunisations
• Play, stimulation and child development
• Keeping your child safe

The Pregnancy Book – http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/publications/pregnancy-book-0
Birth to Five –
http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/publications/birth-five
School Nurses

School nurses work in partnership with parents, children, young people and schools to help provide or support about:-
• Growth measurements, vision and hearing screening
• Maintaining health and development
• Emotional wellbeing & keeping safe
• Immunisations, including flu
• Weight management, healthy diets and physical activity
• Smoking / drugs /alcohol advice
• Parenting and behaviour management

You can help us by making sure your child has received all their immunisations before starting primary school.

Your child’s school details and current home address will be obtained electronically from the Department of Education and recorded on the Child Health System for health visiting and school nursing appointments.

Health Visiting and School Nursing team contact details:

Antrim 028 9442 4600
Ballyclare and Larne 028 2826 1956
Ballymena 028 2563 5658
Ballymoney 028 2766 1891
Carrickfergus 028 9331 5824
Coleraine 028 7032 5461
Cookstown 028 8672 3842
Magherafelt 028 7936 5014
Newtownabbey 028 9083 1492

Family Nurse Partnership

Family Nurse Partnership is a voluntary, intensive home visiting programme for pregnant teenagers. It is open to all young women who live in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust who meet the entry requirements. Family Nurses visit instead of health visitors from early pregnancy until the child reaches the age of two years old.

Contact details: 028 2564 1468

School Immunisation Team

The School Immunisation Team provides all school age immunisations. These include delivery of the HPV vaccine to all year 9 girls, the school-leaving booster/MMR and the Meningitis ACWY to all year 11 pupils.

Contact details:

School Immunisation Team Coordinator 028 2563 5214
School Immunisation Team 028 2563 5212
School Immunisation Team Administration 028 2531 3151

Breastfeeding Coordinator

The Breastfeeding Coordinator works in partnership with the public health nursing teams to facilitate a coordinated approach to enhance breastfeeding standards, increase breastfeeding rates and ensure the achievement and maintenance of UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative accreditation across the health visiting and school nursing teams.

Contact details: 028 9083 1408

Health Protection Nursing Team

The Health Protection Nursing Team is a nurse led service which provides TB contact tracing and screening and includes a contact service for new entrants arriving from high incidence TB countries. Health advice, BCG and Hepatitis B immunisation is offered for infants and children who are at risk.

Contact details: 028 7954 7471

Safeguarding Children Nurse Specialists

The ‘Named Nurse’ for Safeguarding Children has a strategic role to ensuring that all nursing and midwifery groups safeguard and promote the well-being of children and young people.

Safeguarding children nurse specialists work across the Trust providing professional advice, support and supervision to health visitors, school nurses and other nursing staff working in the area of safeguarding children.

Contact details: 028 9442 4600

The Looked After Children’s Nurse

The Looked After Children’s (LAC) Nurse supports the delivery of health services to children and young people who are looked after by someone other than their parents. Looked After Children work in partnership other professionals, for example, GPs, midwives, teachers, social workers and speech and language therapists.

Contact details: 028 2531 7151

Behaviour Assessment Service

The Behaviour Assessment Service is a nurse led service which provides an assessment of child/young person’s behaviour. The service works closely with parents, families, health professionals, GPs and education staff in assessing and identifying appropriate management and treatment plans for children and families.

Contact details: 028 2563 6522

Paediatric Continence Service

The Paediatric Continence Service is a nurse led service which offers advice and support to children, and young people on all aspects of bladder and bowel problems including children who use catheters and/or stomas.

Referrals are accepted from nurses, paediatricians, GP, school teachers and parents.

Children are assessed and offered support and advice from a member of the public health nursing team and a referral may be made to the paediatric continence nurse specialist where continence problems are complicated or unresolved.

Contact details: 028 2563 7150

Children’s Health Coordinator

The Children’s Health Coordinator works in public health nursing to support services and developments to enhance the health of children and young people through early intervention and prevention.

Contact details: 028 9083 1489

The overall aim of the WAVE Trauma Centre as a cross-community, voluntary, regional organisation is to offer care and support to anyone bereaved, injured or traumatised through the ‘Troubles’ of Northern Ireland.
Service delivery includes Counselling; Complementary Therapy; Welfare Advice; Outreach support & Peer Support; Creative and Psycho-Educational projects, Accredited Trauma Training; Transgenerational / Youth services; Advocacy & Casework Service; Truth, Justice & Acknowledgement.
Services are delivered regionally via 6 WAVE centres including Belfast, Ballymoney, Omagh, Derry/L’Derry, Armagh and Killough by the Sea
Mon – Thurs: 9am – 5pm,  Fri: 9am – 3.45pm
Additionally, WAVE offers support to victims and survivors of Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) and Mother and Baby Institutions, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses (MBMLW)

We offer support, advice or assistance as appropriate to parents, carers, children and young people in relation to childrens rights and complaints. If we cannot help we will signpost to someone who can.

We take complaints and enquiries into breaches of childrens rights. In particular we deal with complaints against relevant authorities, which basically means public bodies. We also take or intervene in legal cases concerning childrens rights.

Children their parents or carers normally contact us, but we also take initial enquiries from all interested parties.

Health Visitors are registered Nurses with an additional qualification in child health/development and family health.
Health visiting is a proactive, universal service that provides a platform from which to reach out to individuals and vulnerable groups, considering their different dynamics and needs, and reducing inequalities in health.
Your Health Visiting team can offer a family centred service from pregnancy until your child goes to school. We can offer advice and support on matters such as:
Play, stimulation and child development
Nutrition
Breastfeeding
Weaning
Healthy eating 1-5 years
Sleeping
Immunisations
Keeping your child safe
Toileting
When will I see my Health Visitor?
Our aim is to provide you with the help you need at the right time. Contacts will vary depending on your family’s needs. You will be visited at home and/or places (e.g. health centres) most suited to your needs. The usual contacts offered by the Health Visitor are:
An antenatal visit after 28 weeks
A new birth visit between 10 and 14 days
6 to 8 weeks
14 to 16 weeks
6 to 9 months (Health Visitor or Child Health Assistant)
After your child’s first and second birthday’s
3+ year review in nursery school
How can I contact the Health Visiting Team?
Every GP practice has a named Health Visitor.
Your Health Visitor will provide you with their contact details which they will write in your Parent Child Held Record (Red book)
. If this information is not available, please contact your GP who will provide you with up to date contact information.
Tel : 028 8167 1406

SureStart is a government funded initiative specifically for families with children under four years.
That means the government gives us the money and the services are completely free for families living in Sunnylands, Northlands, Clipperstown, Lovelane and Killycrot wards of Carrickfergus.
We also deliver services in Larne wards; Antiville, Ballycraigy, Ballylornan and Larne town
The overall aim of Surestart is “to improve the wellbeing and life opportunities of young children under 4, through better health, early learning and play opportunities” so that “children can flourish when they enter school”.
Every parent wants the best for their children. Let us help and support you to give your child the very best start in life –
A Surestart.
When you register with us we offer you:
A welcome to Surestart, a highly motivated and professional team.
Services that are designed especially for families with children under 4years old.
We provide help, support and advocacy to families who are new to our area.
All the services we provide are available to all families registered with us we also work in partnership with local statutory services community groups and parents to ensure the best quality service for the families and child.
Give us a call on 02893 359734 and register today and speak to any of our staff about the services we offer.
Our services fall under three categories:
Health
Family Support
Early Learning
We offer one to one support or group support, some of our programmes are for the parents, and the children will be offered a creche place, and other programmes are for parents and children together.
We need you to book a place in the crèche to ensure that we offer your child the best care and attention and we can plan for the numbers and ages of children.
See our
Facebook Page
for Programmes and Events

Home-Start Down District which includes Downpatrick, Ballynahinch, Castlewellan and Newcastle helps families who have at least one child under the age of five and who are going through a difficult time. Families are support for many different reasons including:-

• Loneliness and isolation
• Multiple births or several pre-school children
• Ill health or disability of a child or a parent
• First time parenting
• Postnatal illness
• Family bereavement
• Relationship difficulti

Home Start offers support, friendship and practical help to parents with young children in local communities.

Home Start offers a unique service, recruiting and training volunteers-who are usually parents themselves-to visit families at home who have at least one child under 5 to offer informal, friendly and confidential support.

To help give children the best possible start in life, Home Start supports parents as they grow in confidence, strengthen their relationship with their children and widen their links with the local community.
Ring 028 4461 5727 – Central Line for all local referrals
Home-Start Downpatrick provides a Home Visiting service and the Incredible Years Programme

Home-Start Ballynahinch provides the Home Visiting service and playgroups in following venues:
Home Start office 10b Lisburn Street the Family Group runs on a Monday, Tuesday and Friday 10-12noon.

Crossgar – Glasswater Primary School John Street Wednesday 10-12

Drumaness- in Dan Rice Hall Thursday 10-12

Newcastle Home-Start also provides the Home Visiting befriending service and their Family Groups runs in:
The Castlewellan Community Centre Monday & Tuesday’s 10-12noon
Kairos Centre above Xtra Vision in Newcastle Thursdays 10-12noon.

Carrickfergus YMCA currently delivers a range of programmes, services and activities to approximately 250 young people aged 6-25 and 100 vulnerable families each week through :
Youth Provision – The Youth Engagement Service and Carrickfergus Local Area Provision together provide a social and recreation space for young people aged 11-25, open 5 evenings and afternoons per week. This space offers a safe space for young people to socialise and provides activities such as art, sports as well as targeted provision that focuses on health promotion, personal and social development.
YMCA Outreach team – Targeting hard to reach young people across the Borough who are at risk or involved in anti-social behaviour through detached youth work, diversionary and educational activities as well as 1 2 1 support.
Parents and Kids Together Project (PAKT)- Provides a family support programme for children aged 6-12 and their families/ carers through after school activity clubs, parent support and education as well as family activities. Working out of 2 community houses, one in Glenfield the other Woodburn as well as the YMCA building on Irish Quarter West.
Get Active- Project based on the Right to food 365, this provides practical support, activities and youth advocacy around the issue of food poverty. Independent Living Programme- Provision of support to young unaccompanied minors, providing support and independent living skills.
The YMCA is also used by a number of charities and government agencies as they provide services to the local community, including Action Mental Health, Autism NI and Health & Social Care Trusts.

Health Visitors are registered Nurses with an additional qualification in child health/development and family health.
Health visiting is a proactive, universal service that provides a platform from which to reach out to individuals and vulnerable groups, considering their different dynamics and needs, and reducing inequalities in health.
Your Health Visiting team can offer a family centred service from pregnancy until your child goes to school. We can offer advice and support on matters such as:
Play, stimulation and child development
Nutrition
Breastfeeding
Weaning
Healthy eating 1-5 years
Sleeping
mmunisations
Keeping your child safe
Toileting
When will I see my Health Visitor?
Our aim is to provide you with the help you need at the right time. Contacts will vary depending on your family’s needs. You will be visited at home and/or places (e.g. health centres) most suited to your needs. The usual contacts offered by the Health Visitor are:
An antenatal visit after 28 weeks
A new birth visit between 10 and 14 days
6 to 8 weeks
14 to 16 weeks
6 to 9 months (Health Visitor or Child Health Assistant)
After your child’s first and second birthday’s
3+ year review in nursery school
How can I contact the Health Visiting Team?
Every GP practice has a named Health Visitor.
Your Health Visitor will provide you with their contact details which they will write in your Parent Child Held Record (Red book).
If this information is not available, please contact your GP who will provide you with
up to date contact information.