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51
THE WORK OF THE HEALTH VISITORS
The health of a family largely depends upon the wisdom and
care of the mother. When Health Visitors were first employed
by local authorities they were concerned with families where
ignorance and neglect brought infant and child deaths. That
they have been most successful in their efforts is unquestionable.
The need today may not be so apparent or pressing as crudities
have generally been removed, and it is the more insidious causes
of ill-health, or maldevelopment, emotional and physical, which
remain.
While variations in emphasis and training are required to
deal with changing demands, the fundamental basis of the Health
Visitor being first a nurse does not seem to need alteration. When,
as in Croydon, the work of the Health Visitor is combined with
School Nursing, the suggestion of her being only a social worker
is obviously untenable.
The Health Visitor as at present trained has proved herself a
most important and competent health worker, and one sees no
valid reason to anticipate that she will be less effective in the
future.