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HEALTH VISITING
Under Section 24 of the National Health Service Act, 1946. it is the duty of
every local health authority to make provision in their area for the visiting of persons
in their homes by health visitors for the purpose of giving advice as to the care of
young children, persons suffering from illness and expectant or nursing mothers,
and as to the measures necessary to prevent the spread of infection.
Health visitors, working as they do in close liaison with family doctors, hospitals
and other statutory and voluntary bodies, satisfactorily carried out their multifarious
duties in the community during the year. Well below full establishment, they had
a heavy average case load of nearly 700 families.
The total number of effective visits was 35,851, of which 33,976 were to mothers,
babies and children under five years of age, 1,266 to the elderly, 86 to mentally
disordered persons, 37 to discharged hospital patients (other than maternity) and 30
to households on account of infectious diseases.
Their other duties included attendance at ante-natal, post-natal and child
welfare clinics, running mothercraft and relaxation classes, and the important
function of health education practised in homes, clinics and schools.
Staff
At the end of the year, the staff consisted of the Superintendent and her deputy,
two group advisers, two field work instructors, 20.9 full-time equivalent health
visitors, and four tuberculosis health visitors attached to the chest clinic at the North
Middlesex Hospital, the work of whom is dealt with elsewhere in this report under
the section headed Prevention of Illness, Care and After Care, page 28.
The full-time equivalent of 10.9 clinic nurses is employed to assist the health
visiting staff in duties for which the Health Visitor's Certificate is not essential,
such as nursing duties in clinics and schools.
Students
One student attending the course on health visitor training at the Chiswick
Polytechnic qualified as a health visitor on completion of her training in July and
was appointed to the established staff. One student, sponsored by the Council,
commenced her training there in September.
Training Courses
Two health visitors attended the Field Work Instructors Course and became
qualified to undertake the field work aspect of the training of student health
visitors. The Deputy Superintendent Health Visitor was seconded to attend a twelve
month course for superintendents, and four health visitors attended refresher courses
during the year.
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