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The National Child Development Survey, 1958, is now undertaken by health
visitors and school nurses. During the last 11 years the progress of a selected group
of children has been studied. The health, educational progress and adjustment of
environment of the children has been followed and the percentage of children remaining
in the survey is encouraging. The health visitors have made special visits to the
home and completed questionnaires for 2% of children born in 1958. These children,
numbering 16,000 in all, were born in the week 3rd-9th March, 1958.
It is expected that the survey will provide valuable information for the research
team to increase the understanding of child development and the promotion of
child health.
Work for the School Health Service
The health visitors and school nurses are responsible for the general health and
care of children in nursery classes and nursery schools. The health visitor's close
contact with the family environment can be useful to the head teacher in understanding
the behaviour of the children.
Treatment centres are available in the Borough to deal with minor ailments and
verrucae, etc.
Health education classes are held in all centres and in many schools; these are
taken by health visitors or school nurses who have taken the City and Guilds
Technical Teachers' Certificate. More junior schools and also the academic streams
in senior schools are showing interest in the talks and group discussions arranged
by the health visitors.
Visitors
Between 400-500 hospital nurses from King's College Hospital, Lewisham and
Greenwich hospitals visited establishments for observation of the services. Students
from various colleges attending courses for child care studies, social science, teacher
training, etc., have attended discussion groups with nursing officers and visited
establishments in the Borough. Visitors from Ethiopia, Egypt, Trinidad, Thailand,
Libya, etc., were taken around health centres and day nurseries; many of the requests
having come from the Foreign Office and British Council.
Lectures were given at regular intervals to hospital staff at King's College Hospital
and local hospitals on subjects related to social aspects of disease and the preventive
services.
Talks on the work of health visitors and school nurses in schools were given to
200 Froebel student teachers.
The quality of the preventive service has a direct effect on the need for the
curative services. While a great deal has been done to improve the quality of service
to the public, many members of staff are hampered by having to work in unsatisfactory
premises where there is no privacy for interviewing and full observation
of the child. Church halls are usually inadequately heated and draughty buildings.