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101
Health Visiting
The shortage of health visitors continued unabated during
the current year and 5 health visitors left the service. Vacancies
are difficult to fill and replacement was possible on only two
occasions with one part-time visitor engaged for the latter part
of the year only.
In the Ten Year Development Plan it has been indicated
that there will be a need throughout the country for an increase
in health visitors of the order of 50% and the Council for the
Training of Health Visitors has ascertained that, at the present
time, there are more than 2,000 practising health visitors in the
50 to 60 years range. It is clear that, even if training facilities
are expanded to meet the demand, the shortage of tutor health
visitors, already acute, will be further accentuated and may well
prejudice the success of the plan.
Nevertheless, despite the inevitable disruptive influences of
re-organisation and the shortage of staff, services were continued
on similar lines to those in previous years and the following
table summarises the visiting carried out during 1965:—
No. of Cases VISITED by Health Visitors
Children born in 1965 3,737
Children born in 1964 3,522
Children born 1960/63 6,825
14,084
Persons aged 65 years and over 74
Persons aged 65 years and over (visited at special
request of G.P. or Hospital) 41
Mentally Disordered Persons 41
Mentally Disordered Persons (visited at special
request of G.P. or Hospital) 3
Persons Discharged from Hospitals other than Mental
(excl. maternity cases) 62
Persons Discharged from Hospitals other than Mental
(excl. maternity cases) (visited at special request
of G.P. or Hospital) 54
Tuberculous Households Visited 26
Households Visited re Other Infectious Diseases 428
Total Effective Visits and Re-visits 54,037
Unsuccessful Visits 11,597
Health Visitors—full time equivalent 32.7
T.B. Visitors & T.B. Health Visitors—Full time
equivalent 7.0