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to take their full part in society. The impending absorption of
schools for the mentally handicapped into Education Departments,
to form another type of special school, is to be welcomed as part
of this process, but it is also hoped that these schools will
continue to receive the special attention they deserve.
Current preventive procedures such as Guthrie screening,
rubella immunisation, improvements in childbirth, the decline of
infectious diseases, will cause some reduction in the numbers of
persons born with a handicap, but it is extremely unlikely that
total prevention will ever be possible. Those individuals who
happen by chance to be born with or develop a handicap must be
fully recognised and accepted as just as much a part of our community
as any non-handicapped person.
Health Education:
Despite shortage of staff and other resources the total
amount of health education in our schools was greater than ever
before. A dental hygiene programme organised during the year
was especially successful, as everyone of the 85 primary schools
in the Borough, and nearly all nurseries and playgroups took part.
Lists of the health education material available from my department
were re-circulated to schools and the films, slides, flannelgraphs,
etc. were in very full use throughout the year.
Pollution:
The body of the report details the regular checks on the
environments, including water, air, food, housing, etc. for pollutants
of all types, and the investigation of many complaints; all
of which are a routine part of the protection of the health of the
community. The enormous upsurge in public interest in this matter
is very much to be welcomed, as the vigilance of an informed
population is required, as well as the work of the professionals,
who have tended to be denigrated and ignored in the past.
Next Year:
The tasks of the coming year are firstly to maintain the
co-ordination of health with social services over the time of
change, secondly to develop current and new ways of protecting
the health of the community, and thirdly to prepare for unification
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