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Field Work Instructor, Practical Work Instructor and Management courses,
and staff appear to welcome the opportunity to refresh themselves through
the great variety of courses and lectures offered.
A series of lectures in Hospital for dealing with Current Hospital Practice,
provided a welcome opportunity to discuss common problems with hospital
colleagues, and with 1974 in view, this experience is valuable in developing
closer relationships for the future. "Training" and "communication" must
go hand in hand if liaison between all the services for the community is to
be effective.
CONTROL OF VENEREAL DISEASE
In Lambeth, the number of known, new cases of sexually transmitted
diseases increased from 5,083 in 1970 to 6,297 in 1971. Syphilis increased to
97 from 68 cases in 1970, gonorrhoea 1,345 (1,153) and other venereal
condition; 4,855 (3,862). These statistics do not reveal the true extent of
infection, however, as venereal diseases are not notifiable and a number of
cases may go unrecorded if patients attend their general practitioner for
treatment. In addition, an unknown number of people may remain untreated,
many of them unsuspecting females who are infected by gonorrhoea but have
no apparent symptoms. These cases pose a serious problem in the fight to
control infection, because they become reservoirs of disease and if undetected
can start a chain of infection affecting hundreds of people.
Arrangements for the employment by the Council of the full-time
equivalent of 2.8 visitors and their attachment to the venereal disease clinics
at St. Thomas's, St. Giles (formerly held at King's College Hospital) and South
London Hospital continued.
Contact tracing involves an interview with the infected person and a visit
to the contact in an effort to persuade him or her to attend the clinic for
examination. This is a time consuming exercise and often necessitates working
long irregular hours and taking meals at odd times to fit in to the needs of
patients and contacts. The work requires tact, patience and perseverance and
is an effective way of breaking the chain of infection in the short term.
1,039 visits to contacts were made in 1971 as compared to 572 in 1970; the
decrease in visits during 1970 was due to shortage of staff during part of the
year.
The dangers of and efforts to prevent the spread of venereal disease
has been included in the programme of Health Education displays of posters
and distribution of pamphlets at maternity and child health clinics, and