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ates and, for most adopters, there is an obligation, under Section
3 of the Adoption Act, 1958, to notify the local authority of their
intention to adopt.
Health Visitors are often in close contact with such children and
their records are of considerable value to the Medical Officer
when his observations are sought by the various agencies concerned with adoption.
Foster Parents
In accordance with the Boarding Out of Children Regulations,
1955, the department's observations are also sought with regard
to foster homes listed by the Social Service Directorate into
which children have been placed by its officers in the course of
their duties.
Boarding Out
On the recommendation of the Chest Physician, arrangements
can be made for the boarding-out of children exposed to infection
in their own homes or whose parent or parents are receiving
residential treatment for tuberculosis and cannot arrange for the
care of their children. Similar arrangements can be made to
enable segregation to be achieved during immunisation with
B.C.G.
Surveys
All staff are called upon from time to lime to participate in
national and pilot surveys. Throughout 1971, the following surveys were assisted by Borough Doctors, Nurses and Administrative
staff:
Childhood Cancers
Of 5 childhood deaths included in the survey occurring in
Greenwich, only one of the involved families remained in the
area and this was visited by a Medical Officer for the usual
enquiries.
Survey on the Development of Feeding Skills in Cerebral Palsied
and Normal Children
Visits to mothers with young infants were arranged for a
research fellow at the Wolfson Centre.
A New Oral Polio Vaccine
Council staff and certain parents and children participated in
a pilot survey on the efficacy of a new oral vaccine against
poliomyelitis.