View report page

accommodate them. Senior staff are also asked to help with inservice
and full-time training of other professional groups.
Regular staff meetings are used for discussion and dissemination
of the latest information on current topics.
Co-ordination
One health visitor is attached to a group of family doctors
and others have less formal liaison arrangements. Senior health
visitors attend Oldchurch, Harold Wood and St. George's Hospitals
on a regular basis to act as a link between hospital and
community services. Co-ordination of the work of health
visitors and social workers received particular attention through
the year because of the importance of ensuring good communication
between these key community workers.
Home visits
The bulk of the year's visits (16,681) were concerned with
the health and development of children. Ninety-eight per cent.
of children born during the year (3,818) were visited at home to
find if the mother had any need of advice or help, most often
needed by mothers having their first baby; but a great variety
of other problems are dealt with; sometimes nothing whatever
to do with the baby! 1,231 elderly persons were visited (at the
request of hospital or family doctor in 316 cases), 136 persons
were followed up after hospital discharge, 41 mentally handicapped
or disturbed people were visited and 1,240 visits made
for a wide variety of other reasons. The tuberculosis visitors
made 692 visits.
Speech Therapy
Miss R. Brewitt, Senior Speech Therapist retired in August
1969 after 25 years service to children in the Hornchurch area.
Her position was filled by Mrs. K. Hilton who has been employed
as a Speech Therapist at local clinics since 1963.
Another member of the Speech Therapy staff resigned during
the year and two new appointments were made, one of which was
on a part-time basis only. The general staffing situation at the
end of the year was far from satisfactory and although a Speech
Therapy service was maintained, it was necessarily limited and
only the more urgent cases could be accepted for treatment.
281 children were newly referred for speech therapy during
the year and 189 commenced treatment.
32