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ADOPTION AND BOARDING-OUT
Children are medically examined by Health Department medical officers prior to admission
to Children's homes or private foster homes on request from the Children's Department. Reports
are also made to the Children's Officer as to the suitability of persons wishing to adopt or
foster children, and advice provided on children being considered for adoption or boarding-out
During the year 95 children were examined and reports were made on 56 prospective adopters.
CERVICAL CYTOLOGY
In 1966 the Minister of Health approved the Council's proposals to extend the services
provided under Section 28 of the National Health Service Act by the provision of a service for
the collection of cervical smears for cytological investigation by hospital authorities.
This service was expanded during the year by increased sessions in the Council's clinics,
a further weekly session being arranged at one clinic centre, and a fortnightly session at
another. In addition two general practitioners continued holding regular sessions in their
surgeries, assisted by members of the staff of the Health Department, and the Family Planning
Association continued taking smears at sessions held in Council clinics. From these 1,764
examinations were carried out. In addition, hospitals in the area read 11,103 slides and
although all the latter did not refer to borough residents it can be assumed that the
majority did.
Details will be found on page 103 of the Appendix.
CONGENITAL DEFECTS
Notifications of congenital abnormalities under the national scheme recommended by the
Ministry of Health in 1963 continued throughout the year. Defects found in stillborn and
liveborn children within 36 hours of birth were made on birth notification forms by hospital
or domiciliary staff, details of which are as follows:-
Number of babies notified as having one
or more congenital defects 52
Number of stillbirths and livebirths
notified over the same period 3,317
The rate of notifications per 1,000 total births was 15.6 compared with 13.5 last
year.
There are obvious difficulties in assessing the real incidence of congenital defects
under such a voluntary scheme but some help does flow in maintaining observation registers and
in follow-up to assess any handicap.
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