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Social Workers
The Principal Social Worker (Health Services) is appointed jointly by the
borough and the Inner London Education Authority and heads a team of eleven
qualified social workers, nine of whom are also jointly appointed. Their work is
concerned with (a) family casework; (b) the organisation of the medical treatment of
school children and the social work arising from it.
The health department social workers organised and attended most of the
special clinics for school children for vision, hearing and special investigation, and
worked in close liaison with their opposite numbers in the school care committee as
far as follow-up etc. was concerned. Twenty clinics each week were attended by the
social workers (two audiology, eight vision, ten special investigation).
One of the senior social workers acted as liaison officer between the school
health service and Guy's Hospital. She attended children's out-patients departments,
the cerebral palsy/handicapped children's clinic and the Social Medicine Conference.
She also attended sessions with the Senior Registrars in the department of Child
Psychiatry. Close contact was maintained with other out-patient departments
attended by school children.
Dental Service
The formation of the new borough was co-incidental with the introduction of
a new scheme of school dental inspection common to the whole of the Inner London
area. The purpose of this new scheme was to endeavour to ensure earlier and more
regular treatment for those children whose parents specifically asked for school
clinic treatment and to reduce the number of dental inspections in schools by
examining only the new entrants and by issuing, through the school, an invitation to
the parents of all other children to opt for either private or school clinic treatment.
This scheme was in operation throughout 1965 and although it led to some
improvements in attendances—rate of new cases (47.7%) compared to the L.C.C.
figure for 1964 (41.0%)—it has proved difficult to administer efficiently. In the light
of experience it is thought that some school inspections may be necessary to determine
incidence and prevalence of dental disease rates; standards and maintenance
of oral hygiene; the discovery of grosser cases of dental neglect; and to act as a
most important stimulus to both child and parent to seek treatment whether from the
N.H.S. or within the School Dental Service.
Premises
There are three single and three double surgeries in operation in the Borough;
one surgery at Bermondsey Health Centre is leased to the Inner London Executive
Council. The location of dental centres relative to their catchment areas is considered
appropriate and there is no part of the borough more than 1^ miles from a
dental centre. Some of the existing premises are due for replacement or renewal.
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