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Home Visiting
The two tuberculosis health visitors continue to work from the Edmonton Chest
Clinic, visiting tuberculous and non-tuberculous patients at home; a total of 1,575
visits were paid to 289 tuberculous households; patients suffering from other conditions
such as bronchial carcinoma were also visited.
The visits were undertaken for the purpose of contact tracing, supervision of
persons under treatment, encouraging defaulters to attend clinic sessions, giving
advice on prevention of spread of infection, and on facilities available for care and
after-care and for reporting on the home conditions of patients. The help and advice
given by tuberculosis health visitors in home nursing save many days of hospital
treatment for patients.
Welfare
The medico-social work of the chest clinic is fully integrated with the service
provided by hospital medical social workers. Modern methods of treatment are such
that many tuberculous patients are able to return to their employment after a few
months' treatment. The medical social worker saw 75 tuberculous patients in the
chest clinic during the year; of these, sixteen were new cases. She also visited the
chest wards in the North Middlesex Hospital and Highlands Hospital, a most useful
arrangement in planning the rehabilitation of patients on discharge. Special consideration
is given by the Council, as housing authority, to tuberculous patients with
a housing need.
Medical Arrangements for Long-Stay Immigrants
Arrangements to cover the rather special problems which arise in connection
with the health and treatment of long-stay immigrants to this country were set out
in Ministry of Health Circular C.M.O. 1/65. In consultation with representatives of
the medical profession and of local authorities, the Minister decided that the
following steps be taken:
(a) At ports of arrival long-stay immigrants, both Commonwealth and alien,
who are referred to medical inspectors, will be given a hand-out printed in
languages which they are likely to understand, the aim of which is to
encourage them to get on to the list of a medical practitioner in their place
of residence so that (if he thinks it desirable) he can arrange for them to go
to a mass radiography unit, a chest clinic or a hospital for X-ray.
(b) Long-stay immigrants who are referred to medical inspectors at the ports
will also be asked to provide their destination addresses and these will be
sent to the Medical Officer of Health of the county or county borough
concerned (including also Scotland and Northern Ireland) with a request
that he should try to persuade the immigrants to act on the advice they
have been given in the hand-out. Medical Officers of Health and local
officers of the Ministry of Social Security will also be supplied with copies
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