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67
often the spoken word which has the greater effect. The opportunities
for this form of health education clearly offer themselves
to those field staff who have access to people in their own homes,
i.e. health visitors, public health inspectors, home nurses, social
workers, home helps, etc., and much unpublicised health education
in this form has gone on steadily throughout the year.
Many accidents are caused every year through failure to fit
suitable fireguards. The Council has a scheme whereby arrangements
are made for the loan of fireguards to mothers of young
children where there are insufficient resources to enable the mother
to make her own provision. During the year, 17 fireguards were
issued under these arrangements.
Family casework and problem families
In my Annual Report for 1965, I made detailed reference to the
Council's Co-ordinating Committee of Members and to the Case
Committee comprising representatives of the Social Services
Departments (Health, Welfare and Children's). Their work has
continued during 1966 and the Case Committee met on ten occasions
and discussed 41 families, most of whom had a mixture of
problems. Of these, 17 families were referred because of rent
arrears. Families who are in arrears of rent have become so
numerous that information has been circulated confidentially to
all the departments concerned to ascertain which field workers
are currently in contact with the families. When this has been
established, the field worker has discussed the position with the
parents to assess whether help was needed or advisable and only
those cases where it was considered that eviction might endanger
the future of the children have been referred to the Case Committee.