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Health Education
Health visitors continue to organise group and individual teaching in the centres.
Requests for health visitors to carry out a full programme of talks during each
school term has increased steadily. They are now involved in providing health
education programmes in all but three secondary schools within the borough. Time
is given for discussion with the pupils for it is important to answer their questions
and to combat "old wives tales".
More Head Teachers in junior schools are asking health visitors to give talks on
hygiene and development.
Nursing officers and health visitors have given talks and attended discussion
groups and panels associated with Church Groups, Old People's Welfare, Clubs,
Social Work Groups and other institutions including Day Care Courses for staff at
Goldsmiths' College.
Obesity clinics are now held with considerable success in five health centres
catering for women who need to lose weight for health reasons.
Family Planning
Two health visitors are involved with the domiciliary family planning service and
since 1 October when the Council accepted responsibility for providing the services,
the health visitors are being increasingly involved in follow-up visits.
School Nurses
Five new schools opened during the year and many existing schools had additional
classes added to accommodate the increasing number of schoolchildren in the
borough. (Total school population is 45,874.) The school nurses carry out an
annual comprehensive survey for each child. This includes vision testing—referrals
for medical examinations are made as required. They also continue with their
routine duties of preparation for medical examination and hygiene surveys. Children
suffering from minor ailments and verrucae are referred and are treated by the
school nurses employed in treatment centres. Cases of vermin and scabies are
referred to the bathing centre.
Health visitors continue to supervise the school health and social needs of
children in nursery classes, nursery schools and infant schools thereby providing a
valuable link between school staff, general practitioners and the family.
Two school nurses are fully employed in carrying out audiology sweep testing
in all the schools in the borough.
Chest Clinics
Health visitors carry out clinical and visiting services at the two chest clinics.
Training
All the health visitor students sponsored by the Council and other students receiving
training in the borough were successful in the examination and training for the
health visitors' certificate. Five health visitors were successful in the Field Work
Instructor Course and two were successful in gaining the City and Guilds Technical
Teachers Certificate.
Twelve Field Work Instructors are involved in training health visitor students.
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