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Maternity and child welfare services—The mothercraft and home-making classes for
North Hammersmith (two) and North Kensington (one) continued their useful function.
Attendances were small at one of the Hammersmith classes held in a church hall; there
was a marked improvement, however, when this class was transferred to Glenthorne Road
welfare centre.
Chiropody—An additional fourteen sessions for the priority classes were authorised
but it was not possible to utilise all of these before the end of the year, when 93 weekly
sessions were being provided.
Day nurseries—Following the annual review of day-nursery accommodation it was
decided to reduce the number of approved places at Dalling Road nursery by seven to
55 places. The percentage weighting on the register of two other nurseries was increased
with the object of securing fuller attendance.
Additional creche sessions were instituted at Glenthorne Road, Lancaster Road and
St. Quintin welfare centres.
School health service—An experiment in holding clinics out of school hours began this
year. One special investigation clinic is held every five weeks on a Saturday morning and
a vision clinic is held weekly in the evening. Average attendances at the Saturday clinic
are not yet as high as those at the morning and afternoon clinics at the same centre (53.7
per cent. as against 70.1 per cent.) but the experiment has been under way for only five
months. The average attendance at the vision clinic is 48.3 per cent. as against 59.6 per cent.
at morning clinics at the same centre. The evening sessions have only been held since
September. These sessions are used mainly for children of secondary school age and are
particularly useful for those who are working for examinations.
During the year the withdrawal of organisers from vision clinics in school treatment
centres was completed. The work is now done by the sister at the clinic and a clerk, the
overall supervisory responsibility remaining in the divisional social workers' office.
Physiotherapy—On the retirement of the whole-time physiotherapist the Divisional
Health Committee decided to discontinue physiotherapy sessions, in view of the alternative
facilities available for treatment and a continuing decrease in demand.
Mental health—Good attendance at a meeting of general practitioners and social workers,
held as part of the divisional activities connected with World Mental Health Year in 1960,
encouraged the holding of a meeting in May, 1961 arranged jointly with the Kensington
and Hammersmith branches of the British Medical Association. It was held by courtesy
of the Physician-Superintendent at St. Charles' hospital, Kensington and eighty-seven
people attended, including general practitioners, hospital medical officers and consultants,
and psychiatric and other social workers from Banstead and Springfield hospitals and the
Earl's Court child guidance unit. Talks by the Superintendent of Downview and Banstead
hospitals, a general practitioner and the divisional mental welfare officer on their experience
of the working of the new Act and on recent developments were followed by
a keen and informed discussion.
The meeting provided an excellent opportunity for establishing closer contacts and
exchanging views, and it was encouraging to hear that representatives of services and
professions so closely concerned with the working of the Act were alert to the difficulties
that arose and had so clear an idea of the intentions of the Act and how they might be
effected.
The part-time services of an occupational therapist, who had previously been employed
solely on work with tuberculous patients, were utilised to give instruction and occupation
to a house-bound mentally ill person. Although this patient had to return to hospital
at the end of the year, two other patients were being given these services with good results.
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