SENIOR health visitors have said that children are at risk in the borough because their workload is too large.

The health care workers who spoke at a Children and Young People's Scrutiny committee this evening, told councillors they believe the system used for calculating the number of cases each health visitor deals with is flawed and that in reality they deal with twice as many.

The council worked out that each of the 46 health care visitors has 432 cases each – just above the recommended 300 to 400 case loads. But this number includes up to 12 specialist health visitors who do not have a home visiting role.

Deborah Green, with 23 years experience as a health visitor, said: “I feel we are overworked, not working safely and I have written to my manager to tell her that.”

Ms Green said some of the records of families moving into the are are not being read because they don't have the time.

She continued: “Colleagues feel in absolute crisis because they cannot develop adequate care plans for families. They are scared because they know what they are doing is unsafe.”

Sally Edwards, a health visitor for 27 years, said the target case loads do not take into account the increasing birth rate in the borough, mobile population, and deprivation, all of which create a bigger workload.

Julie van Brussel, borough director of the Outer North East London Community Services, which provides the service, said of the case load figures: “They are crude analyses and don't into account the deprivation in the area. We need to do more work on that because our borough has different needs.”

Vice chair of the committee, Cllr Adam Gladstone, said: “I don't get a sense of urgency about this. You have said there is concern, but I don't get a sense of urgency. That is what I want, the committee to push to get this moving forward.”

Committee chair, Cllr James O'Rourke put forward a recommendation for a working committee to be set up between the council's children's services, NHS and children's centres to address the issue of work load for the health visitors, which was agreed by the committee.

Health visitor Norma Dudley, of Chingford Health Centre, said after the meeting: “We thought the recommendation was positive, if health workers can have some input.”

Elaine Baptise of St James Street Health Centre added: “We need listening and taking note of what is happening and finding a solution.”