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Visitors, Public Health Inspectors and others, the majority however, were undertaken by
the Health Education Section.
Whilst large scale campaigns or big exhibitions have their place in a Health Education
programme, it is felt that their impact is short-lived whereas Health Education in small
groups with opportunity for discussion is of greater benefit and likely to be longer lasting.
It is also more likely to be effective in changing attitudes and inculcating new habits.
During the year, talks to a wide variety of organisations were given and a synopsis is
given later in the Report.
Mental Health Week
Full co-operation with the Mental Health Division was given and this is referred to
on Page 80.
General Publicity
The regular monthly programme of health topics for publicity was arranged and posters
and leaflets were distributed to Borough Establishments. A number of requests came in for
this kind of material from various sections of the community, which is encouraging since
it denotes that there is a lively interest in health matters going on unseen. Where Ministry
of Health Campaigns were sponsored, these were given every support.
Home Safety
Figures issued by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, obtained from the
Registrar General, show that deaths from accidents in the home remain unchanged; it is still
in the region of 8,000 per year; a higher rate than death from roads or any other place of
accident. The Health and Welfare Department has been able to obtain from Edgware General
and Barnet General Hospitals a monthly list of accidents occurring in homes of people living
in the Borough who receive treatment at hospital. The vast number of home accidents which
find their way to the general practitioner's surgery and those which are treated at home are,
of course, unknown. The number must run into thousands per year in this Borough alone.
In an effort to reduce this appalling figure a good deal of education in this field has
been carried out, both as a subject in itself and in the teaching of other subjects.
Publicity material is regularly distributed following the lines of RoSPA's quarterly
campaign.
Several Youth Organisations asked for training and examination of candidates for the
the Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Home Safety and these were undertaken, since training
of the young in home safety is considered to be of supreme importance.
Finchley Carnival, July, 1967 and Friern Barnet Summer Show, 1967
It was considered that these two events were ideal opportunities for disseminating
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