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attended by 15 medical, nursing and administrative staff of the department. The
lectures aimed to give an outline knowledge of the Punjabi language and general
information on the customs of the country.
Indian names present a difficult problem as there is no system comparable to
that used in this country, 'Singh' and 'Kaur' are Sikh titles which denote male and
female respectively and may appear at the end of other names or in between other
names. Surnames may be similar to our own or may be given as the name of a village
from which the person comes. It is thus possible for members of the same family to
have different surnames.
The titles of 'Singh' and Kaur' are so common as to be a source of great confusion
and appear to be best omitted when possible. At Clinics,in order to avoid such
confusion, Indians attending are asked for their 'family' name. If this is not forthcoming
at the first visit they are told that no name will be recorded on the card until
they can give the information required. Health visiting cards made out for new births
have the name omitted if the family name is not given on the birth notification. When
a copy of the birth registration card is received, this is sent to the clinic and in most
cases it contains the family name. As a result of this system, no names of 'Singh' or
'Kaur' have been recorded at Clinics for the last two years.
HEALTH EDUCATION
Language difficulties are responsible for many of the problems of health
education. The usual media are ased but there is an emphasis on pictures as many of
the immigrants are illiterate.
At local clinics filmstrips are shown to mothers attending the ante-natal,
welfare and immunisation sessions, and explained with the help of interpreters. The
subjects included are hygiene in the home, prevention of accidents, care of oil
heaters, prevention of tuberculosis, immunisation, vaccination and dental care. A
single concept projector has been purchased. This is similar to a television in
appearance, the pictures being produced from a continuous loop of film. Any part of
this can be repeatedly shown in order to emphasize the message. This apparatus is
particularly useful in health education amongst immigrants where repetition is the
main way of making the point.
Demonstrations are also given. The subjects include the preparation of bottle
feeds and simple diets, the latter being of particular importance since the Indian
diet is low in protein.
Leaflets in Hindi and Urdu are available at clinics^on the subjects of
tuberculosis, food preservation, general hygiene, the laying of rat poison and the
correct use of oil heaters.
During the first half of 1966, the Mass X-ray Unit of the North West
Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board visited the Borough and extra sites were used
in the Southall area to encourage a full attendance. Leaflets printed in Hindi and
Urdu were distributed at the Dominion Cinema, Southall. 10,438 persons attended
this mass X-ray, which is considered by the Unit to be a good response.
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