Sing-along songs and children’s games will be the order of the day at
the first graduation ceremony of the Family Nurse Partnership programme
(Wednesday 26 September).
Around 40 families and Family Nurse Partnership staff will be joined
by Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing at a special
ceremony to mark the first graduates through the programme.
The children and their families will sing songs and take part in
games before being presented with gold medals and graduation
certificates.
The innovative service, which launched as a pilot in Lothian in 2010,
has seen more than 148 families and has since been rolled out across
Scotland.
The Family Nurse Partnership programme offers an early intervention
service starting in early pregnancy and designed to support first-time
teenage mothers over the first two years after birth.
Val Alexander, Family Nurse Partnership Supervisor, NHS Lothian,
said: “We have seen so many positive stories over the first two years
of the Family Nurse Partnership and it’s great to see so many families
graduating through the service today.
“The programme relies on the development of a strong therapeutic
relationship between our nurse and the client. Visits are structured,
and cover personal health, environmental health, life course
development, maternal role, family and friends and health and human
resource services.”
Melanie Hornett, Director of Nursing, NHS Lothian, said: “I am
delighted to see the first clients graduating through the programme. The
service is all about helping to build on the strengths of young mums
and dads encouraging them to focus on their own wellbeing and that of
their child."
Interview with Val Alexander.