Former Councillor says loss of mother and baby drop in sessions is "unacceptable"

A former Conservative Borough Councillor, and wife of one of Swindon’s MPs has been critical of provision for mothers and their young children in Swindon, which she says have been “drastically reduced” since the Covid-19 pandemic.

But Swindon Borough Council says it is looking to create new family Hubs and increase face-to-face contact between Health Visitors and families. They've added that they have a special phone line where parents can get advice on their child’s health.

Kate Tomlinson, who has two young children responded online to a journalist - who said it was getting increasingly hard to see a health visitor for a check up.

Ms Tomlinson responded: “I was pressing officers and the leader of SBC on this. Child health hubs are crucial and not acceptable that they just haven’t reopened post Covid.

I was also told that Health Visitor visits would be increasing, but this doesn’t seem to be the case at all. I could not fault the Health Visitor teams pre-Covid, but now I have absolutely no idea why contact has been so drastically reduced.

“The weight clinics are so crucial and we should not be passing on the pressure to GPs. Unfortunately I’m no longer in a position to push for more answers."

A spokesperson for the Borough Council accepted drop-in clinics were not being held, but said it was because the council was doing something different. In a statement, the authority said;

"It is true that we are no longer holding our drop-in weight clinics and this is because we now have a new service model that prioritises face-to-face contact with parents and their babies alongside our Family Hubs, which are being rolled out across the Borough".

“We have a fantastic Health Visiting team in Swindon who have continued to provide a safe and equitable service to families in Swindon throughout the pandemic. Family Hubs bring a range of services under one roof and are accessible to the whole community."

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• swindon borough council