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SECTION II
PERSONAL HEALTH SERVICES SECTION
MATERNITY AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICE
In the 1965 Report I mentioned that one of the aims of this
Service was to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity
to the minimum. Reference to the rates under the heading Vital
Statistics reveals that, in common with the national figures, a
further reduction was achieved in the figures for the infant mortality
rates.
The close co-ordination with the family doctors and hospital
services and with other Health & Welfare Departments and
Ambulance Services continued. The number of Health Visitors
working in close liason with groups of family doctors increased
from seven to nine. These were in addition to the Health Visitor
fully attached to a group practice.
Screening of the infant and child population for early
handicap or abnormalities was continued, and this has particularly
applied to the "At Risk" children.
Maternity Services
Statistics relating to the Ante-Natal and Post-Natal Clinics,
and also the Mothercraft and Relaxation Classes are given in
Table 9. All expectant mothers are encouraged to book a general
practitioner on the obstetric list, and therefore the need for the
local authority to provide Ante-Natal and Post-Natal Clinics
has declined considerably over the last few years. In consequence
both ante-natal and post-natalcare are almost entirely undertaken
by general practitioners or clinics attached to Hospitals, dependent
upon whether the expectant mother is booked for home
or hospital confinement. The Local Authority Midwives carry
out regular ante-natal care of all patients booked by them, examining
patients between the regular examinations by the general
practitioner and for this purpose paid 8847 ante-natal visits to
patients' homes in addition to making 3471 ante-natal examinations
at general practitioners clinics and 4784 at Midwives
Ante-Natal Clinics. The local Authority provides mothercraft and
relaxation classes for all expectant mothers who wish to attend
irrespective of whether booked for hospital or home confinement.
These classes are staffed by health visitors, but midwives also
attend for the sessions on childbirth and analgesia.
Ante-natal co-operation cards provide a necessary interchange
of information between doctors, midwife and hospital, and as
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