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29
PERSONAL HEALTH SERVICES
These services are provided under Part III of the National
Health Service Act of 1946.
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE
Peter A. Currie, m.r.c.s., l.r.c.p., Senior Medical Officer.
Constant and repetitive references will doubtless be found in
other pages of this report to the financial stringencies which have
been imposed. This has meant a certain curtailment of the development
of some aspects of the personal health services, and to the
further training of professional staff. It is particularly noticeable in
the difficulty experienced in establishing a screening system for the
earliest detection of deafness. It had been hoped that all the
medical staff would be able to attend a course of instruction on
this, at one of the London hospitals—in fact, only three were able
to attend. However, encouraged by their enthusiasm, local arrangements
were made for a similar course, on a smaller scale, for the
remaining Assistant Medical Officers, and all the Health Visitors.
It is now possible to carry out screening testing of children at 6
months old at the infant welfare clinics. This is expounded in the
report of the two Assistant Medical Officers who have been
appointed as liaison officers for the deaf children.
Cognisant of the fact that Health Centres play a very important
part in the structure and integration of the health services, active
attachment and liaison schemes involving 25% of the health visiting
staff are in operation, but it is at present impractical to further
develop the attachment of midwives and district nurses on account
of geographical and staffing difficulties respectively. I feel sure that
as more attachment schemes are arranged, increasingly successful
integration will undoubtedly develop.
After very full provision had been made for the cytology
service, it was disappointing to find the national apathy reflected in
the low attendances at the Council's clinics. It is possible that an
appointment system was not the best way of encouraging attendance,
and the provision of "open" clinics will be made, together
with teams visiting local factories and business establishments
employing a considerable female labour force. Pressure is being
maintained, as far as possible within the present financial strictures,
to give wider publicity to this service.
The last paragraph of my previous report referred to the
establishment of a complete "At Risk" register. It has been