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HEALTH VISITING
The duties of the health visitor continue to expand. Her
present function of health teacher and family advisor, together
with her knowledge of the social conditions affecting the welfare
of the family, tend to make her the most suitable person to interpret
to the public scientific and legal publications affecting the health
and welfare of the family. She is always willing to act as liaison
between statutory and voluntary social agencies and the family.
In her role as home visitor the health visitor advises parents,
foster parents and expectant mothers on the best means of promoting
their own health and welfare and that of their families.
By frequent follow-up visits to children suffering from illness,
defect or handicap, to those living in unsatisfactory homes, to
the illegitimate and children day-minded in homes other than their
own, the health visitor can get a complete picture of the trouble
spots in her area and thus keep informed all the agencies whose
help may at any time be needed.
This is of special value in dealing with the problem families
who are economically and socially inadequate and need the constant
bolstering hand of all branches of the Health and Welfare
Services.
As well as visits made at the request of the public, the health
visitors continue to make special surveys for the department on
many and varied topics—hospital admissions and discharges, the
investigation of notifiable diseases and special follow-up visits for
national surveys in certain diseases of infancy.
Problems associated with housing conditions are ever present
and health visitors referred all defects and overcrowding to the
sanitary section of the department. They co-operated also in many
cases where medical certificates had been submitted to the Housing
Department in support of applications for rehousing.
Increasingly the care of the aged has been added to the work
of the health visitor. As the problem of the welfare of old people
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