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SECTION 24-HEALTH VISITING
The improvement in Community health has made for changes in the health visitor's
work. The home visiting is not less, but the change is in working in depth with particular
families, making the work more exacting; it is a long term process and its success is
dependent on the building up of sound relationships.
The number of births has risen and the visiting of families with young children
is the main concern of the health visitor. In Leyton the proportion of old people is
well above the average (17% of the population of Leyton as against the national average
of 13%) and therefore more time is being devoted to help our senior citizens.
In a changing society there is less neighbourliness. Young people live away from
their own families and during a crisis there is often no one to whom to turn. Couples
marry at an earlier age and are sometimes not ready to accept their responsibilities
when the baby has arrived. The health visitor who is known and trusted may, by listening
to the problems and discussing them, be able to prevent a breakdown in social relationships
which may affect the family's physical and mental health. The work is mainly
preventive which in its wider sphere includes after-care of patients discharged from
hospital.
LIAISON WITH HOSPITALS
For several years the health visitors have worked closely with the staffs of
Whipps Cross and Langthorne Hospitals. The health visitors take it in turn to visit the
paediatric ward at Whipps Cross Hospital twice a week to supply information about the
children's background to the consultant and his staff and in turn learn about treatment
so as to be able to advise the parents how best to care for the child when he is discharged
home to their care.
The health visitors visit the wards at Langthorne Hospital each week to discuss
new admissions, discharges and the best way to assist with rehabilitation of patients.
This year Leyton has come into the catchment area of Claybury Hospital, the large
mental hospital. The health visitors have since 1959 received training in the principles
of mental health at this hospital to enable them to assist with the prevention of
emotional breakdown and to help patients who have been discharged home. The student and
trained nursing staff of Claybury Hospital also wanted to know more about the health
visiting service and the Superintendent Health Visitor has given a series of lectures
to them. By knowing about each others work close co-operation for the benefit of the
patient at the hospital and in the community, has already been achieved.
LIAISON WITH GENERAL PRACTITIONERS
For some time now one health visitor has attended a family doctor's weekly 'well
baby' clinic to give advice to mothers on social problems and particularly help with
feeding difficulties. Another general practitioner has recently started a similar clinic
and a health visitor is also attending at these sessions. These services are part of
our constant endeavour to increase the present close co-operation with the general
practitioner service.
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