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For our own purposes, the only children we
follow up are those whose defect is likely to be a
handicap to them in their future progress.
As the notifications are made within the first
48 hours of birth, often before a doctor has
examined the baby, it is possible that a
considerable number of congenital defects are not
notified by this method, notably such conditions
as pyloric stenosis, fibrocystic disease, various
congenital heart defects and various renal defects.
We therefore still rely upon the hospital
paediatricians for their co-operation with regard
to notifying these defects.
Observation Register
I am grateful to Dr D G Gooding for the
following preliminary report—
'In the summer of 1965 a scheme was developed
in liaison with the consultant obstetricians and
paediatricians at the West Middlesex Hospital
and Chiswick Maternity Hospital whereby the
department health was given access to hospital
obstetric records.
The hospitals state on their birth notification
form whether or not they consider that any child
born may need further observation due to pre,
peri or post natal hazard, and therefore is at
greater risk than normal of developing a handicap.
Between June 1965 and the end of December
1966 a total of 1666 children were notified as
being in need of further observation. It is
interesting that only about 898 of these cases were
actually followed up at local infant welfare
clinics.
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