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Priority Dental Treatment
Dental treatment is provided for expectant and nursing mothers and
children under five years; the attendances being 22 and 553 respectively. The
service is provided in conjunction with that for school children, combined use
being made of the staff and premises.
Screening for Phenylketonuria
All new-born babies have a screening test at the age of six days, using the
Guthrie method, for the detection of phenylketonuria. This is normally carried
out in hospital on babies born in hospital and by domiciliary midwives on
children born at home and on those babies discharged from hospital before six
days. This test is used to detect the presence of phenylketones in the blood
which result from a metabolic disorder which if left untreated may lead to
mental subnormality. Positive cases can be referred to hospital for treatment
and development is then normal.
There were 72,211 attendances at child health and toddlers' sessions and
1,661 attendances at ante-natal and post-natal clinics sessions. The Council
provides facilities at some centres for general practitioner obstetricians to see
their own booked maternity patients and 268 such sessions were held during the
period.
Creches at which mothers may leave their children for the duration of the
session (normally 3 hours) are held in many child health centres. There were
1,428 sessions during the period at which 17,871 attendances were made.