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9
in the overall number of vaccinations and immunizations performed
during the past five years persisted. The number of effective
home visits paid by health visitors well exceeded fifty thousand.
Applications from members of the public in relation to the registration
of private day nurseries and child-minders rose sharply during
the year with a consequent heavy increase in the time devoted by
the public health nursing staff to this important sphere. 1970 was
equally full for the home nursing staff with the exciting prospect
of participating in the year ahead in a planned early discharge
scheme of suitable patients from a large district general hospital.
Regret at the retirement in March of Miss Winch was coupled
with a warm welcome for Miss Harding, her successor as Principal
Nursing Officer of the Health Department.
Four out of every five visits paid by home nurses are to the
elderly, reflecting the ageing population structure common to highly
developed countries. The attentions of the home help and chiropody
services are similarly devoted in the main to those advanced
in years and prove quite invaluable in ensuring that physical support
and mobility which so often underwrite independence in the
winter of life. Three home help organizers diligently undertake the
day-to-day responsibility for a vital domiciliary service. Equally
happily, Mr. Trenter assumed the very important appointment of
Chief Chiropodist in November.
Loneliness is the bane of old age and. unrelieved, can give rise
to mental as well as physical infirmity. Voluntary visiting is good
for the mental health of all concerned. The role of the voluntary
worker in the field of mental health was the popular subject of the
Social Services forum held in June. Miss Julia, the able Principal
Mental Welfare Officer of the Health Department, and Mrs.
Charlish, the chairman of the local branch of a leading voluntary
organization, were the opening speakers on a most successful
occasion. Very appropriately, in a year in which the community
care caseload of the mental health social workers also rose appreciably
in relation to both the mentally ill and the mentally handicapped
(totalling in all 1.973 persons compared with 1,477 last
year), a new combined adult training centre and hostel was opened
at Roehampton in August. Full details of this landmark in the
development of local community services will be found in the
appropriate section of the Report. Suffice it to say here that the
new building gave immense pleasure to all concerned with mental
health in Wandsworth.
Notwithstanding the deceptively inanimate and mentally soothing
title of European Conservation Year, and the growing public concern
over the unnecessary pollution of the environment, for this
country 1970 proved above all to be a year heralding major changes
in the organization of the health and social services, fn February
the Second Green Paper on the future structure of the National
Health Service was published announcing reorganization outside