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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.

The Macmillan Psychosocial Team is a partnership between Macmillan (funders) and MindWise (host organisation) to provide support for people affected by cancer who experience mental health issues. The service is available to anyone affected by cancer across Northern Ireland, patients, family members, carers, and others important to the person with a cancer diagnosis.
The team will provide support with mental health and well-being, social and psychological support to individuals, family and/or their supporters. This service will focus on family recovery, (‘family’ will be defined by you to include those who are important to you) to have open and honest therapeutic conversations, using the Family Model, to aid recovery and provide a family support plan.
The service is available Mon-Fri 9.00am – 5.00pm. The team is multi-disciplinary and led by social work and offers:
Initial consultation to discuss your needs.
Direct support for you individually.
Support for you and your family (or those important to you).
Honest, therapeutic conversations to aid recovery and create a family support plan.
Signposting to other services when needed.
Access to Lived Experience Support Groups and Local Peer Support Groups.
Opportunities to join a Regional Lived Experience Group to influence service development.
The Team accepts both professional and self-referrals using the following links:
Email:
macmillan@mindwisenv.org
Visit our
https://linktr.ee/MacmillanMindWise
For further details see our Information Leaflet –
Macmillan Psychosocial Service NI Leaflet
and Social media links @MindWise
Our partners provide a range of programmes and training both in person and online :
AWARE NI
CiNI – Macmillan Family Model Training
https://www.mindwisenv.org
Visit our website at:
Macmillan Psychosocial Service | MindWise

The Youth Justice Agency aims to make communities safer by helping children to stop offending. The Agency works with children aged 10-17 years who have offended or are at serious risk of offending.

The Agency provides a range of services, often delivered in partnership with others, to help children to address their offending behaviour, divert them from crime, assist their integration into the community and to meet the needs of victims of crime. These front-line services delivered by the Youth Justice Services and Custodial Services directorates.

The Agency facilitates youth conferences and is tasked with the supervision of Youth Conference Orders, Attendance Centre Orders, Community Responsibility Orders and Reparation Orders. The Agency also delivers a number of interventions designed to challenge and support young people, empower families to support their children, integrate young people into their communities and promote reparation in order to prevent reoffending.

Referral by Court, Public Prosecution Service, PSNI, PBNI, Social Worker

Home Safety Check Scheme
The Home Safety Check Scheme provides help, advice and support to families wiith young children under the age of 5 to help prevent accidents at home. These accidents may include falls, burns, scalds, poison, fire, choking and strangulation. Vulnerable children over the specified age may also be eligible to benefit from the service.
Where required, safety equipment can be provided. This may include stairgates, fireguards, cupboard locks and restraints, door jammers, edge protector, corner cushions, blind safety devices and carbon monoxide detectors.
The scheme is means tested for the larger pieces of equipment such as stairgates and fireguards. This information is included on the referral form to help guide appropriate referrals.

The Youth Justice Agency aims to make communities safer by helping children to stop offending. The Agency works with children aged 10-17 years who have offended or are at serious risk of offending.

The Agency provides a range of services, often delivered in partnership with others, to help children to address their offending behaviour, divert them from crime, assist their integration into the community and to meet the needs of victims of crime. These front-line services delivered by the Youth Justice Services and Custodial Services directorates.

The Agency facilitates youth conferences and is tasked with the supervision of Youth Conference Orders, Attendance Centre Orders, Community Responsibility Orders and Reparation Orders. The Agency also delivers a number of interventions designed to challenge and support young people, empower families to support their children, integrate young people into their communities and promote reparation in order to prevent reoffending.

Referral by Court, Public Prosecution Service, PSNI, PBNI, Social Worker

Londonderry YMCA supports the family in variety of ways. We provide programmes whereby young people can engage with peers and friends. This can give the family a break and parents are offered informal support and sign posted to other services.

Contact : yw@ymca-ireland.net