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21
DAY NURSERIES
8 day nurseries with 370 approved places are maintained by the local authority. From June 1st an
additional 30 places in York Park Day Nursery, Hendon, were made available for children living in the
Willesden Area. Free transport in special vehicles with escorts is provided because of the distance from their
homes.
All approved places available have been filled throughout the year. The number of children on
the waiting list for admission has increased 100% in spite of the additional places provided at York Park
Day Nursery (Table 70). The general attendance has been good apart from a few periods when nurseries had
cases of infectious disease (Tables 68 and 69) with 99% of the children in the priority groups (Table 71).
Recruitment of suitable qualified staff nursery nurses and wardens has again proved difficult and
8 vacancies remained at the end of the year (Table 72). The establishment of 20 student nursery nurses was
filled throughout the year. Six students completed their training and all successfully obtained the N.N.E.B.
certificate.
CONVALESCENCE
Under Section 28 of the National Health Service Act, patients may be recommended for a short
term stay in a convalescent home. Normally these patients are those recovering from a serious illness or
operation, and require only rest, fresh air and good food to complete treatment.
Applications are received from general practitioners, hospitals and from clinics, and approved
recommendations are forwarded to the county medical officer who arranges homes suitable to the individual
cases.
If a reduction in the standard charge of £5.5.0d. is required, applicants have to complete an
economic circumstances form and they are assessed by the divisional finance officer. A request may also be
made for payment of travelling expenses.
Number of recommendations:—
1959 1958
Adults 110 106
Children 35 20
145 126
SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE (Tables 73-85)
Medical Inspection
The routine medical inspections in schools continued. Defects were followed up and treatment
offered at one of the specialist clinics. In addition to these routine inspections special school visits were made
by the Medical Officers to deal with problems of children referred by the Head Teacher.
This scheme may make it possible to reduce the number of routine inspections by concentrating
more on the children who require attention.
School Survey
A comprehensive survey of all schools in the Borough was made during the year by teams of medical
officers, public health inspectors and health visitors.
Defects and deficiencies included such things as inadequate toilet accommodation, washing facilities,
inadequate heating and lighting, dampness, and unsatisfactory medical inspection rooms.
Summaries of the team's comments and recommendations have been brought to the notice of the
Borough Education Officer.
Handicapped Pupils
In September the Day Special School for Educationally Subnormal Children was transferred from
College Road to the Glenwood School, Kingsbury, N.W.9. The additional accommodation available will
greatly reduce the waiting for admission.
CHILD GUIDANCE (Tables 86 and 87)
The clinic has been hampered by various staff shortages during the year. A Psychiatrist was
appointed in January, but it was not until May that the vacancy for an Educational Psychologist was filled.
In September, a further part-time psychotherapist was appointed. There was also a shortage of clerical staff.
136 children were referred to the Centre for investigation. This is the largest number since its
inception in 1954. In addition the School Psychological Service has had a very busy year. The Child
Guidance Centre has a long waiting list of six months and the School Psychological Service of nine months.
Treatment is mainly carried out by the psychiatrist and three part-time psychotherapists with regular sessions
for the children, assisted by the two full-time psychiatric social workers, who have regular meetings with
the parents.
Regular monthly meetings of the assistant medical officers and clinic staff have continued, and the
psychiatrist has made weekly visits to the maternity and child welfare centres. At these meetings the medical
officers have brought forward their own cases for discussion and emphasis has been on the prevention.
Joint conferences have been arranged with probation officers, speech therapists and child care officers,
and group meetings have also been held for health visitors, psychologists and nurses. In addition, psychological
and social casework students have spent periods at the Centre as part of their training.