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Question:—As a newcomer to the town ought I to make the
acquaintance of the personnel of the nearest Clinic ?
Answer:—The answer to this question is undoubtedly "Yes," but
the odds are that you will not have to put your hat and coat on and go to the
Clinic because there is a Health Visitor for your district, and it is almost
assured that either your neighbour—on the one side of you or across the
road—knows this Health Visitor personally, and will ask her to drop in and
see you in order to make your acquaintance.
You see, we do not want to wait until you have got to call in a doctor;
by the time your child is ill the possibility of preventing illness has gone—
what we want to find out are those very minor maladies which, if unchecked,
develop into something far more serious.
Moreover, there are lots of services for conditions which could not be
looked upon as diseases; for instance, if your child's teeth are not so
straight as they ought to be this is not a disease but is something in which
we can help you very much.
Alternatively, your child may have what is commonly known as
"flat-footedness" and which, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, is not,
but is only a matter of stance. Here again, arrangements can be made
for your child to attend our Orthopaedic Clinic to receive, under the
direction of the senior physiotherapist, special exercises by a remedial
gymnast.
It will, however, only be by talking matters over with the Health
Visitor that you will find out how numerous the Services are and, of course,
in particular, in what way those Services are of benefit to you.
Do not wait until the doctor goes to the school; have a chat with the
Health Visitor now. All the Health Visitors are very human; they are
stockfull of local knowledge, and if after talking to her your child does not
personally require any help which we can give, at least you will know how
fortunate you are and you will, perhaps, be able to help somebody else
towards getting whatever treatment may be necessary.
During the year one thousand four hundred and forty-two home
visits were made.
Question:—Is it necessary for me to be present when my child
is medically examined at school unless there is something to which
I specially want to draw the doctor's attention ?
Answer:—The answer is Yes, and I mean Yes, even for the older
girls and the older boys who, when they get so old, think their mothers
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