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been negotiated with the owners under which the Council will be able to improve thh
heating and decoration of the rooms which it uses. Other premises which presen
problems still remain in use.
One major piece of work has been undertaken in reconstructing the walls at a day
nursery which had suffered from bomb damage during the war and, more recently
from sub-soil settlement.
Local meetings
with district
nurses
To roster co-operation with district nursing services a series or open meetings have
been arranged to discuss problems of mutual interest to district nurses, midwives,
health visitors, home helps, etc. The Council is providing speakers on such subjects as
health education in the home, problem families, care of old people. As a further measure
of co-operation, the health visitors at the various centres met informally and entertained
the district nurses working in the area.
Health
education
The health education programme was extended, and greater use was made of
visual aids, particularly the flannelgraph. In addition to films and film strips, a tape
recorder was brought into use. Societies and clubs in the division were written to, and
the services of speakers at their meetings offered. The programme was carried out in
close collaboration with the public health departments of the two metropolitan boroughs.
Particular attention was paid to the prevention of home accidents, and an enquiry was
made into one important aspect of this—the increasing occurrence of accidental coal-gas
poisoning among older people. The enquiry was undertaken in collaboration with
local officers of the South Eastern Gas Board, who examined the gas appliances in the
homes of old persons in receipt of home help. This liaison has proved valuable, and it
has resulted in the replacement of a number of defective and dangerous fittings. The
results of this enauirv will be published in due course.
Health
visitors
The field of work of the health visitors is progressively widening. Co-operation
with the general medical services improved slowly but steadily, and the arrangement
whereby a health visitor was attached for part-time work to a group of doctors continued
to prove successful. Links with hospitals were tightened also : particularly valuable
was the domiciliary work carried out by health visitors in connection with the diabetic
unit at King's College Hospital. This work is to be extended in the near future.
Observations on the widening sphere of work of the health visitor have been published
elsewhere (1).
The health visitor at one centre has organised a club for mothers, which is combined
with an ante-natal relaxation exercise class. Subjects of interest are discussed (e.g. home
nursing and first aid, prevention of infection, knitting, washing, etc.), films are shown
and free discussion is encouraged. The response has been encouraging. The average
attendance is 10.
Home-making
course for
inexperienced
mothers
Approval ror this, ror an experimental period or one year, was given by me health
Committee in September, 1954. The experiment has proved very successful, but there
are many difficulties. It was found essential to carry out follow-up work in the homes,
after a period of about a week of intensive instruction. The additional cost of this work
has been almost negligible, and the experiment is to continue for a further year.
The aged
The care and welfare of older members of the community, especially those who
live alone (a large proportion), is producing problems of increasing complexity;
fortunately they are being dealt with more effectively as co-ordination of effort improves.
Suitable long-stay accommodation remains the greatest need. As in previous years,
maximum effort has been concentrated on enabling the old persons to remain at home
provided their medical condition permits it. The use of an assistant medical officer as a
co-ordinating officer between the various agencies concerned has proved to be well
worth-while. A discussion on the medical care of those living alone has been published (2).
Mental health
education
As a result of the Medical Officer of Health s Working Party on Mental Health
Education in the Maternity and Child Welfare Service, weekly case conferences have
been held at one of the Council's centres between the centre doctor and health visitor
(1) The Practice of Health Visiting (Journal of the Royal Society of Health, No. 8 August, 1955.)
(2) The Medical Care of Those Living Alone. (Medical Press 14.12.55.)
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