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teaching courses on preparation for childbirth and screening
courses on the testing of infant's hearing at the Institute of
Otology and Lanryngology. Study days and conferences on a
variety of relevant subjects including renal dialysis, diabetes,
mental handicap and school health, etc., were suitably supported
by the department.
Management Courses
A one month Course at the King Edward College of Hospital
Management, Bayswater, was attended by the Deputy Chief
Nursing Officer and 2 Centre Superintendents were seconded to
First Line Management Courses at Thames Polytechnic.
Observation and Other Visits
A programme of visits to 4 Special Schools was arranged for
19 doctors on a post graduate course at Lewisham Medical
Centre. This programme, which comprised a total of 16 sessions,
received considerable co-operation from the Head Teachers.
A total of 488 hospital student nurses spent 900 sessions in the
Borough observing the Health and Social Services and our Nursing Officers continued to visit the Nursing Education Departments
of local Hospitals to give lectures on the Community
Services.
There were also many requests from other disciplines for a day
of observation visits with field staff, for all of whom programmes
were prepared.
Child Health Centres
Attendances at the Child Health Centres rose during the current year by 8.2% to a total of 11,096. These increased attendances
at our Centres are probably due to the expansion in the
number of Development Assessment Clinics arranged for infants
and children up to the age of 5 years. Parents appear to find this
a worthwhile examination and it is much appreciated. Many
more defects, however slight, are diagnosed at a much earlier
stage with the result that close observation is ensured and a fruitful liaison established with general practitioners.
Our Health Visitors' emphasis on home visiting presents the
parents, in particular mothers, with the opportunity freely to discuss
their anxieties and difficulties and to claim the help and
advice which the health visitor is qualified to give.