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85
the nurse working entirely with patients of one doctor or group and
being in very close liaison with the doctor. More of these liaison
schemes are likely to be arranged in the future.
As a whole the work has progressed and there have been signs
of useful increase. There is room for much more progress and it is
hoped that a better staffing situation in the next years will bring
this about.
Staff
Staff losses in the health visiting service have been severe, resulting
in the unprecedented step of closing two centres during August.
Eight health visitors resigned for various good reasons, and one,
unfortunately, died. To some extent these losses were offset by the
recruitment of three full-time and two part-time health visitors and
also by the qualifying in September of our four sponsored health
visitor students who then commenced work as health visitors for
the Borough.
Seven health visitor students commenced a year's training in
September, sponsored by the Borough. When they are qualified the
staffing position for health visiting staff should be considerably
easier.
The home nursing service has been much better off for staff
during the past year. Fewer nurses have resigned and any losses
have been made good fairly quickly. Nurses coming forward to
work and to train as district nurses have been of a good standard,
assets to the service.
A steady flow has been maintained of capable well qualified
women wishing to work as clinic nurses with the possibility of
promotion to school health service work. There is a considerable
turnover of staff in this field as many of them are young married
women who want to start their own families or whose husbands'
work takes them away from the area but there are always others
wishing to join the staff and recruitment presents no difficulties.
Ante and Post Natal Clinics
These clinics, provided by the Council at its Welfare Centres, are
under the supervision of the Council's Medical Officers or General
Practitioner Obstetricians and they serve as centres where midwives
can book and examine their patients and where facilities are offered
for certain routine investigations.
Figures given in the table following indicate the use made by residents
of these clinics. Total attendances for the current year continue
to show some reduction from those of 1966 which are given in
brackets:—