View report page

and with discharges from hospital, the elderly and others, does much to
extend education by practical assistance to individuals and families
when they are most in need of it and gives them support which undoubtedly
contributes to the establishment of individual and community health.
Social factors cannot be separated in the work of the health visitor
where family difficulties, social problems and health are so interlaced,
but the health visitor, as the general purpose family visitor, calls on the
advice and help of other services when these can be of assistance to members
of the public.
Account is taken of the different interests of mother and other groups
to satisfy inclination and desires to acquire knowledge of health and
practical methods connected with parentcraft.
Relaxation and Mothercraft Classes are given weekly at eight Maternity
and Child Welfare Clinics. This is an increase of one weekly session over
those reported for the previous year.

Home-making and Parentcraft talks in schools
Health visitors and one school nurse have given talks, demonstrations
and films to secondary modern girls in the area. In all, 378 talks and
discussions were given in schools. The lively interest of the pupils makes
this part of the work very well worth while.
Child Welfare Clinics
The percentage of children under one year of age who attended for the
first time during the year continued the improvement noted in 1955.
During the past four years this figure has risen from 89.1% to 94.3%.
The total attendances made by children under five years were slightly
up on the figure for the previous year, due to the opening of the Somerset
Road Centre, Tottenham, which increased the number of sessions held
during the year in the Area as a whole by 73 as compared with 1955. To
some extent, attendances at the other three centres in Tottenham have
fallen since the opening of the Somerset Road Centre, but it has not yet
been considered necessary to recommend any adjustment in sessions as
a result.
66