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in pain and discomfort, often with permanent impairment to follow. For the children,
permanent physical or psychological handicap may result with difficulties of education
and conduct. It has been estimated that over the country as a whole each year the
aftermath of home accidents causes some 1,400,000 days of hospital care, costing over
four million pounds. The co-operation of London school teachers was sought and
generously given. In all some 521,000 leaflets were distributed and over 19,000 posters
displayed.
Further information about these campaigns with an account of an investigation
into the causes of home accidents and other related matters are to be found in
Appendix C.
Safety
handbook
Arrangements were made to distribute to the public, free of charge, through the
Council's divisional health organisation, an illustrated home safety handbook, produced
by a commercial firm. Altogether it was estimated that some 72,000 copies of this
handbook would become available and a considerable number were distributed
before the end of the year. To facilitate the publisher's advertising campaign and at the
same time make the book more convenient in size for its readers a separate
edition for each metropolitan borough and the City of London was prepared. The
book covered all aspects of home safety and reference was also made to industrial and
road safety. Other editorial material supplied by the Council gave information about
the personal health services provided by the Council within the area of distribution.
Health
education
against cancer
A conference of representatives of all the medical authorities concerned was held in
May 1956 to consider the problem of health education against cancer, with particular
reference to smoking and lung cancer. It considered that the population fell naturally
into three classes : schoolchildren whose care would best be left to parents and teachers ;
adolescents and the young adult ; the middle-aged, in whose case education would best
be directed towards securing early diagnosis. It was further considered that health
education on this subject would best be carried out in the general context of health
education rather than being made the subject of a special campaign.
As a result the preparation of a leaflet for leavers from the Council's schools which, in
the form of a guide to health, gave prominence to the causal connection between
cigarette smoking and lung cancer was put in hand.
Visual aids
The library of films and film strips was again extensively used, approximately
330 films being hired and a little under 200 requests for the loan of one or more film
strips being made. The majority of these films and film strips were for use at educational
classes at maternity and child welfare centres. Two new film strips were made, one,
' Three Years and Five Senses', is described more fully in Appendix C, the second,
' Vaccination against Smallpox' was produced commercially on the Council's behalf
and stresses the dangers of infection and the procedure of vaccination.
The decision to have a film made for use in cinemas to publicise the B.C.G. vaccination
of schoolchildren is referred to more fully in the section dealing with tuberculosis.
Leaflets and posters on a wide range of topics in addition to those used during the
two specialised campaigns were distributed and displayed through the divisional health
offices. Generally, the method followed was to publicise one subject or aspect of health
education for a period of a month, at the end of which the subject was changed, this
ensured a wide coverage and maintained interest.
Talks, etc.
Talks and demonstrations were given regularly at many of the Council s welfare
centres during the day and 56 evening lectures outside the normal hours of duty were
arranged for audiences of parents, parent-teacher associations and schools. Among the
subjects covered were first-aid and home nursing, sex education, preparation for
motherhood, feeding and child welfare. For a number of lectures and demonstrations
at welfare centres, designed to be of interest to expectant and young mothers, special
invitations were extended to fathers and those attending showed a lively interest and
appreciation of the part they could play in the upbringing of a healthy family.
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