Four they’re jolly good health visiting Fellows!

Four Barnsley health visitors from South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust have recently been appointed as Fellows of the Institute of Health Visiting, which recognises the professional achievements of exceptional health visitors.

Alison Addy, Belinda Gaskell, Tracy Lake and Susan Norman are four of the first 121 health visitors in England to be recognised for their outstanding contributions to the profession. Being awarded the Fellowship means they are now part of a group of expert health visitor leaders who make a real difference to the health outcomes of children and their families.

Candidates that apply to become a Fellow go through a rigorous application process which assesses their contributions to health visiting as well as children, families and communities. Potential Fellows must also be able to demonstrate excellent practice and leadership potential.

Alison Addy, clinical lead for the service at the Trust said, “We’re delighted to have been awarded the fellowship. It acknowledges the excellent work going on in Barnsley across the borough to improve outcomes for young children and their families.

“Being a fellow means that we are able to contribute to national and local developments, strategies, policies and provide best practice guidance to others to ensure high quality care for local people. This is enabled by using an integrated approach with other agencies.”

Dr Cheryll Adams, director of the Institute of Health Visitors, said “We are delighted to appoint more Fellows to the institute to strengthen leadership in the health visiting profession and to help develop the next generation of health visitors. Fellows lead the way in pushing the boundaries to ensure excellence in practice.”

As new Fellows, Alison, Belinda, Tracy and Susan will undertake a four day leadership development programme, and will be awarded with a certificate at a celebration event in March.