Health visitors to help vaccinate children ‘facing barriers’ under new pilot

Health visitors in some areas are set to offer vaccinations to children who have ‘fallen through the cracks’ as part of a one-year pilot programme.

The government has unveiled plans for a £2m pilot where health visitors will work to reach families facing barriers to vaccines.

Under the initiative, health visitors across five areas of England will offer vaccinations during routine visits to families who have not taken up vaccinations via their GP practice.

The programme, due to start in mid-January, will target families who have ‘fallen through the cracks’, the government said, including those including those not signed up with a GP, struggling with travel costs, childcare juggling, language barriers or other tough circumstances that prevent them reaching vaccinations at a GP practice.

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Families will be identified by the NHS using GP records, health visitor notes and local databases.

And health visitors on the pilot will be given extra training to tackle tricky conversations with parents and to give vaccinations safely.

There will be 12 pilots rolled out from mid-January across five regions of England, including: London, the Midlands, North East and Yorkshire, North West, and South West.

The government stressed the scheme was not designed to replace GP practices and that families should continue to get vaccinated there first, the pilot ‘supports families with children who’d otherwise slip through the net’.

It added that the year-long trial will be evaluated before being rolled out across the country from 2027.

Health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, said: ‘Every parent deserves the chance to protect their child from preventable diseases, but some families have a lot going on and that can mean they miss out.

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‘Health visitors are already trusted faces in communities across the country. By allowing them to offer vaccinations, we’re using the relationships and expertise that already exist to reach families who need support most.

‘Fixing the NHS means tackling health inequalities head-on. By meeting families where they are, we’re not just boosting vaccination rates – we’re building a health service that works for everyone.’

Last year NHS England announced that work was underway to test the use of health visitors in delivering flu jabs to children.

An earlier ‘pathfinder’ project, launched in December 2024, had been testing areas where health visitors could help increase vaccination uptake and try to reach families ‘who have fallen out of the system’.

The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) said today’s news was the latest phase of that same pilot.

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Chief executive Alison Morton said: ‘The iHV fully supports the initiative which will maximise the important role that health visitors play in reaching all families, providing a trusted source of advice and ensuring that more children are protected from these serious and preventable diseases.’

Separately, GP practices will begin offering vaccination against chickenpox as part on an expanded NHS childhood vaccination programme from 2 January.