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6
Domiciliary Midwifery
Home confinements fell to 25% of all Croydon births. The introduction
of schemes for early discharge of mothers from maternity units in recent
years has steadily diminished the numbers of mothers having their babies
born at home. Insofar as this allows the admission of all high risk cases
to hospital it is obviously to be supported, but the gradual replacement of
domiciliary midwifery by maternity nursing raises staffing problems.
Health Visiting
Recruitment continued to improve with the policy of secondment for
(raining. The experiment of using clinic nurses and assistants for tasks
not requiring trained Health Visitors was so successful that authority for
an appropriate permanent establishment was given. The publication of the
report on Social Workers, caused some concern to Health Visitors about the
future scope of their work The developing pattern of attachment to general
practice, and the increasing need for health education at group and personal
level for all sections of the community, imply a greater demand for Health
Visitors than at any time since the conquest of infant mortality.
Care of Children Under 5 Years of Age
New legislation covering the registration of child minders imposed
fresh responsibilities. The popularity of private nursery groups continued to
increase. There is a growing demand for facilities for pre-school children
particularly from mothers living in tall blocks of flats. Nursery schools or
nursery classes would meet the needs of the majority, leaving day nursery
places for mothers compelled to work as the sole wage earner of the family,
and for handicapped children. Despite the Corporation's scheme of assisted
daily minders, it was not possible to cope with all demands from mothers entitled
to day nursery places, and an application was made to the Department
of Health for authority and grant to build a day nursery in Thornton Heath,
for 50 children.
Mental Health
The major event was the completion of the new Coldharbour School. This
provides 60 places for children of school age, deemed unable to benefit from
attendance at an ordinary school, 24 places for similar children of pre-school
age, and 24 places for very severely handicapped children. It replaced the
adapted house on the same site, previously used as the Junior Training
Centre, and anticipates in design and name the transfer of these facilities to
the Education authority.
Only one extra home was added during the year to the Group Units.
Several properties were considered, but planning difficulties and high conversion
costs could not be overcome. An approach was made to the Housing
Committee about the inclusion of premises in a housing project, as the use