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7
steps were taken to establish a training course for Health
Visitors at the Croydon Technical College as an endeavour to
help in the solution of a national problem. Careful assessment
was made of the duties of all professional staff, to ensure that
work which could be delegated to other personnel was not left as
an unnecessary burden on depleted establishments.
New clinic premises were opened at New Addington, and provided
excellent Maternity and Child Welfare facilities for this
somewhat isolated part of the borough. Discussion commenced with
local general prectitioners about sharing of accommodation. The
approach came from some of the doctors, was a reversal of
previous attitudes, and by no means unanimous. It raised considerable
problems but had obvious advantages for doctors and
their patients, and the Health Committee indicated their approval
to schemes being put forward.
Mental Health Services continued their planned development
and good progress was made in increasing facilities for industrial
work. Much less successful was the establishment of group
homes, which suffered from the deferment of capital expenditure,
lack of suitable buildings and delays in buying suitable properties.
One house was acquired and its conversion for a supervised
group of mentally subnormal girls was begun. This failure to add
to residential accommodation was disappointing, as increased
facilities for employment would have allowed more patients to be
placed in the community.
Health Education
Comprehensive programmes which co-ordinate with similar
efforts in schools were extended to cover the whole of the
borough. They include references to the connection between
smoking and lung cancer, and to venereal diseases, but these
topics were not the subjects of special campaigns.
Cervical Cytology
No success was achieved in obtaining local facilities because
the Regional Board could not provide laboratory services and the
Ministry of Health ruled that it was not within the powers of
the Corporation.