Health visitor role lost 'every 30 hours'

The figures show there were 8,764 full-time health visitor posts in September 2008 compared to 9,056 in September 2007.

Numbers stood at more than 10,000 in 2004.

The decline comes at a time when health visiting is high on the political agenda, with Lord Laming's report on child protection calling for government to take immediate action to increase numbers.

Unite said the figures, representing a job being lost in the profession every 30 hours, form a "final wake-up call" for government.

Unite national officer for health, Karen Reay, said: "The rate that health visitor jobs are disappearing has slowed slightly - but the trend is still downwards.

"In the light of the recent Lord Laming review, the public is demanding a coherent child protection strategy where health visitors play a central role in conjunction with other agencies."

The Department of Health (DoH) is staging a health visitor summit in May in an attempt to boost the profession.