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HEALTH EDUCATION
During 1962 an attempt was made to arrange health education on the basis of
organised courses of instruction in preference to the somewhat sporadic lectures which
had been given in the past. A nucleus for this did, of course, already exist in the mothercraft
classes in the clinics and in the food hygiene courses at the bakeries, but it was felt
that if this principle could be extended to other topics much better results would be
obtained.
Pilot schemes were started in one of the bakeries, in a secondary modern school and
in a number of women's organisations (on the subject of home safety and first aid) and
although it is as yet too early to assess their value first indications are that they have been
well received.
Maternity and Child Welfare
Health visitors made much more use of the visual aids available in the health education
section during 1962, and in particular the films and filmstrips were in great demand.
The most popular films were "Your Children Walking," "Breastfeeding " and "To
Janet a Son." The latter was only released about the middle of the year and the demand
at first far exceeded the number of copies available. It is understood that this difficulty
has now been overcome and it will be possible to make more use of the film in the future.
The three evening film sessions for mixed audiences were very popular. At one of
these the French film "Naissance," dealing with the psycho-prophylactic method of
relaxation, was shown and this, supplemented by a number of coloured slides, provided
much discussion.
Training of Students
A lecturer from the Teachers' Training College and a Ghanaian Health Inspector,
both of whom were attending the London University Institute of Education course,
completed their practical work by Easter and were replaced in the autumn by a teacher in
a Secondary School and a Medical Assistant from Kenya. Suitable programmes of
visits and discussions were arranged for them.
Food Hygiene
The training courses for the Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene Food
Hygiene Certificate were continued throughout the year and a high standard of success
in the examinations was maintained, 55 out of 65 candidates being awarded their certificates.
During the year it was felt that the demand for these courses was rapidly outstripping
the facilities which we, as a Health Department, were able to provide and
so the co-operation of the local College of Further Education was sought. As a result
one of the autumn courses was held in the College using the same team of lecturers as
before. The excellent laboratory and other equipment provided made the task of
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