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HEALTH EDUCATION SERVICE
"MEN AT SOME TIME ARE MASTERS OF THEIR FATES: THE FAULT,
DEAR BRUTUS, IS NOT IN OUR STARS, BUT IN OURSELVES"
Julius Caesar. Act 1 Sc.2.— William Shakespeare.
It would seem that when Shakespeare wrote those words he might have had Health Education in mind,
had he ever heard of it.
In spite of the fact that man has survived until now he is not always ready and willing to listen to the
voice of reason when it comes to taking such action as will preserve him from harm, lengthen his days and
make his life more enjoyable. He often tends to think that bad things only happen to other people and
couldn't possibly affect him.
The whole purpose of health education is to enable man to enjoy life to the full and avoid the many
pitfalls which can beset him on his journey through life, and remove some of the so-called quirks of fate.
Many of the active preventive measures which are readily accepted today as part of normal living, came about
by the practice of health education. Pure water supplies, sanitation, immunisation, maternity and child
welfare, to mention a few, are the results of persuasion and education.
It can be said that health education is aimed at four sections of the community, (i) The expectant
mother and the mother who initially commences a child's educational training, (ii) the schoolchild and
students at further education establishments, (iii) the adult population and (iv) the retired. It will be noted
that a contrast has been made between the adult and the retired. This is purely arbitrary but it should be
remembered that when the age of retirement is reached the individual does, in fact, need to change his
habits because of the new circumstances.
It will thus be seen that health education carries out its important task from the very beginning until
the last days of the citizen. Each of these groups must be communicated to in a way which is acceptable to
it, and within these areas of course there are additional difficulties of communication which are peculiar to
Islington. These are our immigrant groups who must be approached within the framework of their own
social customs, and in addition the many language barriers must be surmounted.
STAFFING
It is now nearly five years since the Health Education service was inaugurated and,with the ever-growing
demand for the service, it has been necessary to increase the staff to meet the constant calls made upon it.
The staff now comprises
Health Education Officer.
Assistant Health Education Officer.
Driver/Projectionist.
Clerical Assistant.
For the future, perhaps in an improved economic climate, a further expansion of staff towards meeting
the full health education needs of the borough's over a quarter of a million people and 104 schools plus
further education establishments, might be considered, including the appointment of a full-time home
safety officer and a female assistant health education officer.
HEALTH EDUCATION CENTRE
In order to give the Health Education Officer further scope, part of the former midwives hostel at
Scholefield Road was allocated for use as a health education centre, comprising:
(a) a conference room, used for in-service training, minor conferences and health education meetings;
(b) a display and exhibitions room where many of the exhibits created by the health education
section are on display. Also many of the audio-visual aids, models, charts, flannelgraphs, etc., are
available for inspection by departmental staff requiring aids and assistance for talks and lectures
they may be giving;
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