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HEALTH EDUCATION
The impending reorganisation of local government in the Greater London area
made 1964 a year of consolidation rather than of expansion of the health education
services. Much time was spent in liaison with the staff of the Borough of
Barking, so that such new developments as took place followed a pattern acceptable
to both parties. Film shows and talks were given to various organisations,
and in these use was made of the Health Department film "Help Yourself to Health"
which was released in 1963. The outbreak of typhoid in Aberdeen provided the
basis for a number of talks on food hygiene, and the latter was adopted as the
theme for the Town Show display.
Maternity and Child Welfare
The demand by health visitors for visual aids for teaching in clinics continued
to rise; film strips were in greater demand than ever before,
particularly when at the end of the year the long-awaited strip on the
psychoprophylactic method of ante-natal preparation became available. The
increased use of this method of preparation for childbirth was responsible for a
falling off in demand for the film "To Janet a Son" and its replacement by
"Birthday".
Displays
The main annual display was that at the Town Show where, as mentioned above,
the theme adopted was "Clean Food". Co-operation from the Gas Board, the
Electricity Board and a local school helped to produce some interesting exhibits
which included a three foot model fly perched on a dustbin. Advice and
literature on refrigeration, hand washing, and the general care of food were
provided by the public health inspectorate and the exhibit was well patronised.
At one of the clinics a dental display was erected and anti-smoking stands
were supplied to three schools.
Health Education in Schools
The anti-smoking campaign run in 1963 provided an entree to many schools
which up to then had not availed themselves of the facilities of the health
education section. In consequence, a liaison was established between the health
education officer and certain schools1 staffs which will be of great value in the
future.
During 1964 two "health weeks" were run, one in a primary and the other in
a junior school. The first dealt with the twin topics of hand washing and care
of the teeth, whereas the second was solely devoted to dental care. The health
education section of the Essex County Council health department provided the
latter which included film shows and lectures to the whole school (by classes)
and a large display complete with a full dental suite. A parent-teacher meeting
was held during the week at which parents were invited to see the films and the
display and to discuss problems with the dental staff.
Generally, school staffs made much greater use than before of the equipment,
literature and film strips available in the health department, and only asked
for speakers to be provided for specialised topics. However, in a few schools
the established pattern of organised health education courses arranged end
largely staffed by the health department was continued, but it is rapidly
becoming apparent that as more schools take more interest in the subject,
staffing problems will restrict the number of specialist speakers who can be
allocated annually to any particular school. This is a problem which must be
faced jointly by teaching and health staffs, and some restriction of ideas on
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