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- 68 -
Six student health visitors were sponsored for training and have
filled vacancies caused by retirements and resignations.
One health visitor was successful in gaining the only scholarship,
awarded by the London Boroughs' Training Committee, for the Health Visitor
Tutor Course at the Royal College of Nursing.
Training facilities were given for ten health visitor students from
the Royal College of Nursing, the North Western Polytechnic and the
University of Surrey to gain practical experience with a fie'ldwork
instructor.
Schemes for the attachment of health visitors to general practitioners'
group practices have continued to develop. Two part-time liaison schemes
and one full-time attachment have commenced during the year, bringing this
to a total of six health visitors working in schemes with fourteen doctors
in five group practices.
The following table records some of the visits made by health visitors.
There is some improvement in the percentage of unsuccessful visits, though
in an area of this type this will always be high.
1968
1967
First visits to -
Children born in 1968
2,481
2,987
Children born in 1963/67
6,509
7,784
Persons aged 65 or over
275
183
Mentally disordered persons
56
63
Persons discharged from hospital
(other than mental hospitals)
49
18
Tuberculous households
157
160
Infectious households
(other than tuberculous)
14
30
Unsuccessful visits
10,571
11,525
Total successful visits
32,087
35,851
The home visiting of the elderly has increased, particularly by those
health visitors working in group practices. In addition to home visiting,
health topics on diet, home safety, sleep, care of the feet and eyes, and
the facilities available from the social services, form the programmes at
the clubs for the elderly which are being developed at the health centres.
These give the opportunity for teaching preventive health measures, in
addition to helping the aged to meet others of similar interests and to
reduce their loneliness.
Health visitors continued to teach the student nurses at the
St. Stephen's and St, Charles's Hospitals' nursing training schools on
the "Social Aspects of Disease",
In-Service Training.
Staff have continued to attend the courses run by the London
Boroughs' Training Committee and, in addition, in-service training has
been given by talks and films. The following are some of the subjects
covered - "Care of the Sick Child in Home and Hospital"; "Speech
Difficulties in Children"; "Genetic Advice Centres"; and "Mental
Illness amongst the Older Age Groups".
A course of training for established home helps, entitled "The
Senior Citizen at Home" was organised by an assistant nursing officer.