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of break-up. The aim is for the specially trained home help to teach the rudiments of
housekeeping to the mothers of such families. Where necessary, basic household equipment
is lent to the families, as an adjunct to the service, until they can obtain their own.
The scheme was in operation throughout the County by May, 1956, and at the
end of the first full six months' working 59 home helps had attended special training
courses, each course lasting the equivalent of five whole days. Only three women were
specially recruited for this work, the remainder being employed already in the home
help service. Not all the trained personnel received assignments during the six months'
period and some attended more than one family. In all, 49 families (212 children) were
given the special service, the number of hours service ranging between one and eight
a day. A feature of the schcme is that when a measure of improvement becomes apparent
the amount of service is gradually reduced and so the mother progressively accepts
more responsibility for the running of the home. The special home helps had difficulty
in obtaining access to the home in only seven instances. In four of these it was the
father who was unco-operative and in the others the mother was opposed to accepting
help. One family refused further service after only two visits and another after two
weeks. The service was provided subject to the usual charges, which are abatable in
case of need, but where the success of this rehabilitation measure might have been in
jeopardy if payment of the charges had been required, the divisional health committees
had power to waive payments and recommend that the amounts outstanding should
be written-off as irrecoverable. The closest liaison is maintained between the home
help organisers, special home helps, health visitors and where appropriate the school
care committee workers. The success of the scheme so far may be judged by the fact
that all but four of the families helped showed signs of improvement in their homes.
The number of trained home helps employed in the six months' period was equivalent
to about eight whole-time units, and the cost, including training, was about 1,500.
A selection of typical case histories of families dealt with under the special home
help scheme is given in Annex D.
Recuperative
holidays
Under arrangements made for implementing the Council's proposals under the
National Health Service Act, 1946, recuperative holidays are provided for expectant
and nursing mothers and for adults recovering from some illness which necessitated
medical treatment for a recent definite condition. It is likely that there are some families
who do not qualify for a normal recuperative holiday but where the strain on a mother
or father of attempting to cope with exceptional difficulties is such as will lead either
to a breakdown in health or to friction in the family. If the parent could be relieved
of worry for a period by being sent away for a holiday the result might be to prevent
a family crisis from arising. At the end of 1956 the approval of the Ministry of Health
was successfully sought to an amendment to the Council's proposals under section 28
of the National Health Service Act, 1946, to enable the Council to provide recuperative
holidays for adults where such holidays are recommended on a medical certificate to
prevent mental or physical breakdown leading to possible neglect or ill-treatment of
children in their own homes. A supplementary benefit of this schcme is the possible
avoidance of the situation where excessive demands would be made on the other
services of the Council.
Mothercraft
and
homemaking
classes for
selected
mothers
What may be a useful, and is certainly an interesting, approach to the needs of the
mothers in some problem and potential problem families has been the development of
mothercraft and homemaking classes for selected mothers. The purpose of these classes
is to improve the mother's standards by means of organised group activities in hoir.ekeeping,
child management and allied subjects. The members of a class are young and
inexperienced mothers and mothers from problem and potential problem families,
selected by social workers, health visitors, voluntary organisations (including voluntary
school care committees), housing welfare officers and so on. Each class meets once
weekly and the group leader is chosen for her teaching aptitude and for her experience
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