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The Health Visitors also paid 311 visits to Infectious Disease
cases, and patients notified as suffering from Tuberculosis, etc.
Home Help for Mothers.
The Home Help paid 27 visits during the year and her work
was found of considerable value. She also assists at the Centres
when not occupied with her other duties.
One is finding that the demand for a Home Help is not as
great as it was some years ago, largely due to the work being undertaken
by friendly neighbours.
In addition to her ordinary work, in her unoccupied time she
carries out cleansing of unclean heads, under a special scheme.
She was trained at one of the London Cleansing Stations, the
Council provides the Sackers' combs and the necessary shampoo and
towels. A fee of 1/- is charged for each case. By. this means any
child who is excluded from school, can be back within two days,
and the cleansing is not carried out by any officer of the department
acting as such.
There have been certain parents who have objected to going to
the Home Help, but a considerable number of the parents have been
very glad of the opportunity. The presence of this service acts in
in another way, in that if a case is taken before the Magistrates the
fine is considerably heavier now that means are at the disposal of
the parents, whereby the child can be re-admitted to school within
48 hours. There is a certain class of parent who rather than face
the fact of paying the 1|-, will spend more than that on various
medicaments wherewith to cleanse the child's head, and run to the
extreme limit of the period allowed by the Committee, and then at
the last minute face the fact that it is better to pay 1|- and get the
head clean, than run the risk of a substantial fine by the bench.
During the year, 31 children have been cleansed.