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139
specially arranged party of local medical practitioners, including consultants, was
addressed by the Medical Officer of Health. A similar meeting, representative of all
branches of the nursing profession, was addressed by the Chief Nursing Officer. The
exhibition also aroused great interest among conducted parties of invited adults and
school children.
Attendance of
health
visitors at
hospital
clinics
A new out-patient department was opened at the Woolwich War Memorial Hospital
in the latter part of the year. At the request of the Paediatric Consultant, a rota of health
visitors was formed for attendance at his clinic. The arrangement has worked well and
consultants attending other hospitals in the division have asked for similar facilities. It is
hoped that it may be possible to extend this very useful linkage.
Student
nurse
training
The revised syllabus of training for nurses laid down by the General Nursing Council
requires training to be given in the social aspects of disease and personal and communal
health. Enquiries were received from five hospitals in the division for facihties for field
experience and visits of observation in connection with these studies. In two instances,
schemes were agreed and put into practice.
Division 7, comprising the boroughs of Camberwell and Lewisham.
Dr. H. D. Chalke reports :
Accommodation
and
clinics
Many clinics are being held in church halls—accommodation which has very obvious
disadvantages, not the least of which concerns the impression they give to the mothers
who attend. It is not easy for the health visitors' educational talks to sound convincing in
surroundings in which cleanliness, ventilation, heating and so on are of a poor standard.
It is indeed fortunate that the zeal of the voluntary and paid staffs who have to work in
these clinics never flags, despite the material handicaps.
The erection of a prefabricated building (at Blackheath Hill) to replace unsatisfactory
accommodation elsewhere and the opening of a new centre in Lordship Lane
are referred to on page 52.
Owing to the long delay in obtaining the use of premises on the new Kingswood
Estate, it was decided to open a child welfare clinic on Saturday mornings in a school
on the estate. Despite obvious disadvantages, this experiment met with a good measure
of success.
An interesting feature of the preventive activities of child welfare centres was the
extension of routine tuberculin testing. The children are tested annually. This has
already paid dividends by the discovery of unknown cases of tuberculosis of which the
positive reactors were contacts—not always among members of the child's family.
An ' all purpose ' clinic held in the evening was continued. The attendance was
small but it is felt that the clinic served a useful purpose.
The use of
child welfare
clinics
There is no little variety of opinion at present as to the functions and value of these
centres; it was decided therefore, to obtain the views of a large number of parents on
such questions as to why they did, or did not, make use of these clinics. The enquiry also
included questions concerned with the public awareness on health matters in general,
including immunisation. The results of the enquiry appeared to leave little doubt as
to the continued need for these centres, as essential links in the chain of disease prevention
and the promotion of health. The questioners for part of the enquiry were medical
students from Guy's Hospital, who carried out the work admirably, and it is believed
received much benefit themselves, by gaining an early experience of social-medical
problems. The results of this investigation are to be published.
Health
education
A number of talks on health matters was given to the public by medical and nursing
members of the staff, and considerable use was made of films and film strips. Many
additions were made to the film strip library, but there is a real need for better film strips.
The response to public lectures was at times rather disappointing; but it is believed that
this work has so much value that it should constitute an increasing part of the work of a
health department. Lending libraries at the centres were well patronised and it is
gratifying to learn that fathers, as well as mothers, made use of books on parentcraft.