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43
THE WORK OF THE HEALTH VISITOR
Miss L,E. Oakley, S.R.N., S.C.M., H.V. Cert.
Superintendent Health Visitor
Each year brings its special problems for the Health Visitor,
and in the year under review there was fresh emphasis on old
problems in a new guise. Houses in multiple occupation, mothers
going out to work, large families making do in one or two rooms
- paying rent which they could ill afford and children now with
one, now with another daily minder. These have occurred chiefly
in those parts of the Borough where immigrants tended to congregate.
Cultures were different, there was no hope of rehousing
by the Council, and places in the Corporation Nursery were not
possible because both parents were working. If admission to the
nursery was authorised distance from home or to work sometimes
made the arrangement impractible.
At first the numbers involved and the manifold difficulties
baffled the Health Visitor, but now she realises that these are
conditions she was trained to meet- Her visits were welcomed,
and in the majority of cases efforts were made to adjust to the
need for healthy living in a strange environment with a somewhat
inclement climate. By and large the children and the homes were
clean and cared for, and once a good relationship had been
established the Health Visitor felt that she could achieve much
to help these families.
The promotion of mental as well as physical health is now a
routine part of the Health Visitor's work. This has meant a close
liaison with her colleagues in the mental health field, and it
was achieved by further in-service training and case discussions.
Health Visitors were often involved in coping with problems
posed by unmarried mothers. Particular difficulties arose in
finding suitable accommodation for girls away from their
families. Proper care for the child of an unmarried mother who
decided to work was not always easy to arrange. The Corporation's
Day Nursery was sometimes too far away from her home, or full at
the moment it was needed. Daily minders for very young babies
were not easy to find. To support the unmarried mother by
sympathy and understanding until she was able to find work, to
discover a friendly neighbour willing and competent to look
after the child, were sometimes time-consuming but rewarding
tasks for Health Visitors.