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attend occasionally on a sessional basis. During 1966 resignations
and appointments resulted in the number of doctors
approved for the ascertainment of mentally handicapped children
decreasing from six to five but a further medical officer undertook
a course in this work at London University which restored
the number to six, when the necessary period of practical work
had been completed.
During the year 76 children attending child welfare clinics
were referred by medical officers to special clinics or hospital
consultants.
Child Welfare Services
The total number of children attending the Clinics decreased
slightly from 9413 in 1965 to 8921 in 1966. 75.8% of children
born in 1966 attended the clinics as compared with an equivalent
figure of 78.1% in 1965. In my last report, attention was drawn
to the changing function of the child welfare clinics in that
consultation between parents and doctors and health visitors
and routine screening tests and medical examinations to detect
any deviation from normal development now take precedence
over the assessment of a baby's progress by means of the
weighing scales. This factor and the reduction in 1965 in the
wide range of proprietory milk and other foods previously
available in clinics may have caused this slight reduction in
the attendance figures.
The routine screening tests and medical consultations
enabled early ascertainment of possible handicaps with the
necessary investigation and treatment, and also referral for
specialist advice and treatment of any other matters affecting
the well being and future development of the infants attending.
These routine screening tests and medical examinations also
provide the majority of mothers with the assurance that their
child is healthy and developing normally.
At Risk Register
At the end of the year 304 children were considered to be
"at risk" because of various unfavourable hereditary, ante-natal
natal or post-natal factors, and these children were being
carefully followed up. All premature infants, had of course, been
included on the "at risk" register but the majority of these had
made favourable progress by the end of the year, and were
removed from the register as nolonger being in this category. The
following table sets out the number of premature births as
adjusted by any notifications transferred in or out of the area. For
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