Stay up to date with appointments and immunisations
During the first five years of your child’s life, you will be offered appointments to review how you and your child are getting on. Some of these appointments will include a review of your child’s health, growth and overall development, others will be to provide the recommended childhood immunisations.
Attending these appointments will help you and your child to stay healthy. Please register with a local GP as soon as you can. Find a GP near you.
The health visiting service is now offering face to face appointments to all our contacts and health reviews.
Why is it important?
Birth to age 5 years is a very important time when growth can be very rapid, for most children this will happen without any difficulties. The national Healthy Child Programme provided by the Health Visiting service offers all parents a schedule of health and development reviews which provide an opportunity to talk about how your child is doing and explore any concerns you may have with a professional from the health visiting team. Getting early help (including information or a referral for your child) can support your child to be happy and healthy.
One of the best ways to protect your child against diseases such as measles, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough is through immunisation. Your child’s immunisations will be provided free through the GP practice where you are registered.
Your GP can also help if you are feeling low or experiencing symptoms of post-natal depression or you can refer yourself to Talk Changes our local talking therapy service.
First point of contact
The contact details for your local health visiting team can be found inside your Personal Child Health Record (red book). It is important to take your child’s red book to every healthcare appointment. The red book can help you to keep up to date with any appointments your child is due, including the recommended immunisations.
Childhood immunisation
View the appointment timeline below to find out which immunisations are due during the 2.5-5 year period. If you would like to talk to a health professional about immunisations you can contact the nurse practitioner at your GP practice, they will be more than happy to answer your questions or respond to any concerns you may have. Remember, immunisations are really important to help keep your child and community safe, and should be given at the correct age, delaying them can put your child at risk.
Appointment timeline 28 months - 5 years
| Age | What | Why | By whom | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years and 4 months | Immunisation | MMR (2nd dose) 4-in-1 pre-school booster |
Practice Nurse at the GP surgery | GP surgery, Community Child Health Clinic |
| 4 – 5 years | Health Review | To support your child’s transition to school if your child has additional needs or if required | School Nurse/Health visitor | School nurse/Nursery/School setting |
Local services
- Hackney and City Health Visiting service
020 7683 4151 (9-5pm Monday–Friday)
huh-tr.hackneyandcityhv@nhs.net - Domestic violence support services
- Homerton Health Visiting immunisation website
- Get help for your mental health (Talk changes)
- Parenting and mental health support for children, young people and their families
- Hackney Support for Early Years (Local Offer)
National resources
- How to register with a GP
- Register for an electronic Red Book
- Your baby/toddler's development reviews (NHS)
- Your baby's height and weight (NHS)
Immunisation resources
- Childhood immunisation schedule (NHS)
- Start 4 Life Immunisations
- Vaccine Safety Information
- Herd Immunity film
- Childhood vaccinations information
Feedback
We value your feedback about the birth to five resource and the information we provide.