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of 11 and 14 with the intention of preventing the damage to the
unborn child which can result if a pregnant woman sustains the
disease. By the end of the year seven hundred girls had been
immunised, mainly at sessions held in their schools. I would
like to express my thanks to the Head Teachers who have been
most helpful in making arrangements for these and other immunisation
sessions.
Maternity Services:
Eighty-five per cent of the year's births took place in
hospital. The steady rise in the proportion of hospital births has
been made possible by a sizeable increase in the number of beds
available, and by early discharge home of the majority of mothers
and children into the care of the domiciliary midwife. The development
of general practitioner maternity units, where mothers are
attended by the family doctor and the domiciliary midwife, at
Rush Green and Harold Wood hospitals has also helped to change
the pattern of work of the community midwife, and made close
integration of her work with that of the hospital and general practitioner
even more essential. The total number of midwives
required for community work is steadily declining and it may be
that increased opportunities will develop for the employment of
part-time midwives, dealing only with ante and post natal care.
District Nursing:
By contrast the demand for general nursing of patients in
their own homes continued to rapidly increase. As district
nurses' work becomes more closely linked to general medical
practice, either by attachment or liaison, the amount of "acute"
or short term nursing increases in addition to the "chronic" or
long term nursing of elderly or permanently disabled people.
Another factor leading to the increased demand is the pressure
to discharge patients from hospital as soon as possible after
admission so that others on the waiting list can be dealt with.
As 1970 went on it became quite clear that current numbers of
staff could not deal with the demand and that an increase in the
number of nurses was essential.
HANDICAPPED CHILDREN:
1970 showed an upsurge in national interest and conscience
with respect to the handicapped, with a continuation of the
welcome change from hiding away the disabled to helping them
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