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PERSONAL HEALTH
duties are to trace contacts, follow-up treatment defaulters, and assist
patients in meeting social problems.
Despite health education carried out over a number of years, the incidence of
venereal disease continues to cause anxiety.
Formal instruction on sexually-transmitted diseases is now available to all
secondary schools. This is given by the Health Education Officer and several
schools in the borough have taken advantage of this facility. (See Table 22).
Health Advice Clinics
for the Elderly
This service continued to be available at Bowes Road Clinic but because of
the low demand only a few sessions were required during the year. The
sessions at the Health Centre in Forest Road were also continued; but here
again attendances were small and during the year this facility was transferred
to premises in Pymmes Park, used by the Edmonton Old People's Welfare
Committee, where an improvement in attendance was achieved. The cooperation
of that Committee in making this arrangement was much appreciated.
Referrals are received from general practitioners, health visitors, and from
other sources. The purpose of the service is to provide advice to retired
persons, or those about to retire. It includes advice on health, diet, environmental
aspects, and pastimes, as well as a check on vision, hearing, haemoglobin,
blood glucose and weight. The service is carried out in relation to
other local authority facilities such as the Health Department's chiropody
service and the facilities provided by the Social Services Department. The
sessions are staffed by one of the Council's medical officers and a health
visitor or clinic nurse. In each case a medical report is sent to the patient's
family doctor.
The Smokers Clinic
As was the case last year, sessions were held throughout the year at Central
Clinic, Plevna Road, with a break during the summer months. The sessions
lasted for two to two-and-a-half hours, were devoted to talks, films, group
discussions and the use of the Wright Peak Flow Meter, and were conducted
by the Principal Medical Officer for School Health together with the Health
Education Officer. Guest speakers attended some sessions.
One hundred and fifty-one persons attended altogether, and 34 of them
claimed to have stopped smoking while attending the clinic. Although this
represents a drop in the total number of persons attending, compared with
the previous year's figure, there is an actual increase in the number of persons
claiming to have stopped smoking.
An analysis of the results obtained in 1970 was made by means of a
questionnaire sent to 80 men and 81 women. Twenty-two men and twentytwo
women replied, and of these fourteen men and ten women were nonsmokers
one year after attending the course. (See Table 23).
Recuperative Care
This scheme provides holidays for persons who are recovering from illness or
operation but who do not require nursing care. Normally application is made
by general practitioners on behalf of their patients, who make some contribution
towards the cost according to their means. Except in special cases the
period of the stay is limited to two weeks. The majority of holiday homes
used are situated on the south coast.
Under this scheme eight holidays were arranged for adults during the first
three months of the year after which responsibility for this service was
transferred from the Health Department to the Social Services Department
by the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970.
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