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50
THE WORK OF THE HEALTH VISITORS
(Miss E. A. Evans, H.V., S.R.N., S.C.M., Chief Nursing Officer)
This advisory service is available to all members of the community, provided by trained health
visitors, assisted by trained nurses and clinic auxiliaries. Each health visitor is responsible for a
geographical area and we are fortunate they are based at Welfare Centres throughout the City,
making the service more easily available to members of the public, to colleagues from all other
departments and to social workers from statutory and voluntary organisations.
As always, one of the most important functions of this service is the home visiting carried out by
the health visitors, which brings advice and support to members of the community in their own
homes. It results in the health visitor becoming a well-known figure, whose skills and knowledge
are provided on the spot, and when these services are needed most. She herself also benefits by
this as she is able to build up her experience and knowledge of community needs within this area,
making the service more useful and practical.
A continued difficulty is the amount of movement of families from one address to the other;
this can be within the same house, or street or anywhere in the City, to other authorities or to any
other part of the country. To ensure an adequate follow-up in these cases is well nigh impossible
and families who are at risk socially and medically and who are in need of special care are very
easily lost sight of. Many families need intensive help, and co-operation with social workers who
are able to provide it and this is sought by the health visitor. In such cases it is almost always
necessary to continue contact to support the family and indeed the social worker. Small amounts
of material help can be given, often successfully preventing a crisis in the family, but it needs a good
deal of understanding and sympathy on all sides and co-operation from the family concerned for
success. Of course, there are many successes, but equally many failures, and it is these who require
the continued patience and understanding and much prolonged hard work to reach anything like a
solution. It is very obvious to those working closely with the health visitors that social problems
continue to be one of their main concerns.
In view of this, the preventive role should not be overlooked, and advising the normal happy
family is equally important. First visits to the mother and young baby of 10 to 14 days old is a
unique opportunity for advice on good child care, diet, hygiene and general management. Helping
to promote happy, satisfying mother and child relationships, which is the most important period
in the infant's life, emotionally and mentally, is one of the health visitor's most vital functions. It is
this experience, which provides the unique knowledge of normal development of the child that
helps her to recognise deviations from normal, and give special support to mothers who need it.
Health visitors undertake urine tests on all babies between the ages of six and eight weeks
either at the infant welfare clinics or at the children's homes. Where a phenistix test gives a doubtful
reaction the ferric chloride solution test is carried out. During 1968, 2,803 (2,814) tests were made;
no positive reaction was seen. It is noted that 530 babies moved out of the City before tests could
be made.
Infant welfare clinics, ante-natal clinics, family planning clinics, cytology clinics are held at
M. & C.W. Centres and health visitors join in their organisation, and co-operate with the medical
officers. These centres are a local land mark and mothers know information and help is available
to them whenever they care to attend. The clinics are friendly and informal.
Health Education
This also is an important part of the programme of work, and a lively and active interest is shown.
Education Sessions are held at many of our clinics, and films, discussion groups, mothers'
clubs, sewing classes, mothercraft classes for expectant mothers with occasional creches for minding
the children of mothers who attend, are regularly organised.
Regular commitments are undertaken at schools, e.g. The London School of Fashion where a
series of discussions and talks were given to the students, the regular session at College Park
School for E.S.N. girls, and many other schools in the City who co-operate and ask for health
education sessions with the nursing staff, given regularly and as a continuing programme to the
benefit of the students. Visual aids are provided on many topics and frequent changes of display
arranged to provide variety.
One health visitor participated in a Careers Conference at Paddington and Maida Vale High
School, and talked about nursing and health visiting as an interesting future career. We have
helped with a Child Care Course at the Sarah Siddons School, arranging suitable visits for the
pupils to the day nurseries. Another health visitor is now helping with the nursery nurse training at