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34
THE WORK OF THE HEALTH VISITORS
I am indebted to the Superintendent Health Visitor, Miss
Oakley, for the following report.
Throughout the year the Health Visitors have continued
their work amongst the families in the Borough, teaching and advising
on positive health in the homes. Infant Welfare Centres,
School Clinics and Schools.
Opportunity to make their work known to a wider public was
taken by talks given to Women's Groups and Parent Teachers
Associations. The "Welcome to Citizenship" and Municipal Exhibition
gave the Health Visitors a chance to bring home to the
general public, the changes brought about by the teaching of
preventive medicine and environmental hygiene in the life of the
community as a whole. This was done by means of a model made hy
themselves, in conjunction with the Home Helps Department, depicting
school and home life at the beginning of the century and
now. In these changes Health Visitors have played a bigger part
than is generally realised.
Thirty courses of Mothercraft Talks were held during the
year, some 516 expectant mothers attending. These have proved
invaluable not only for the teaching given by the Health Visitor,
but for the interchange of ideas amongst the members of the
class in the discussion which follows the talk.
There has been a gradual development of group teaching in
some of the Infant Welfare Centres which it is hoped to extend
during the coming year. Advantage has been taken of the appointment
of the Health Education Officer to obtain insight into
modern teaching methods.
Realizing the influence the Health Visitors have with the
mothers of the Borough, the W. V. S. asked for help in disseminating
knowledge of their One in Five Scheme which, with the
approval of the Home Office, aims at spreading basic Civil
Defence measures to the Women of the country. A meeting was
arranged and the scheme outlined by speakers from the Educational
Department of the W. V. S. and from the St. John Ambulance
Brigade. As a result some Health Visitors have co-operated by
addressing groups of women and all have undertaken to pass
information on whenever it is asked for.
The problem of the aged is coming more to the fore of the
Health Visitors' work, and during the year an increasing number
of visits have been paid to old people living alone. Advice is