The BBC’s report on health visiting capacity in England is a stark reminder of the pressures facing families and the workforce. Behind the statistics are families who rely on trusted, relational support in the earliest days of their child’s life – and a workforce doing everything it can under extraordinary pressure. When health visitors are carrying large caseloads, the space for prevention, continuity and early help is harder to protect.

At Better Start we know this matters deeply. We know that the antenatal period and first years of life shape long‑term health, development and life chances. Health visitors are a cornerstone of that early years system – often the only universal service with a window into family wellbeing, parental mental health, parent-infant relationships and early child development.

While Blackpool is not immune from these pressures, the current context highlights how essential it is to prioritise workforce support, supervision and sustainability when capacity is stretched.

Here in Blackpool, we see every day that investment in the early years works best when universal services are strong, connected and able to act early, alongside community‑based and voluntary sector provision. We place real value on meaningful engagement, working alongside health visitors to support high‑quality, trauma‑informed interactions, the sharing of trusted health messages, and access to practical resources for families.

When capacity is lost, the system becomes more reactive, inequities widen, and opportunities for prevention may be missed.

To truly be able to give every child the best start in life, rebuilding and sustaining the health visiting workforce must be part of the solution – not as a standalone issue, but as a foundation for prevention, place‑based working and long‑term public health impact.