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The schools allocated to each Medical Officer are grouped, as far as
possible, around the Child Welfare Clinics which the particular Medical Officer
also attends. This enables the Medical Officer to see both the child and its
parent at the Child Welfare Clinic until the child becomes eligible for school,
and then to continue seeing them both at school. This continuing care is
valuable as it helps to build up a good relationship between the parent, child
and doctor.
The Borough co-operated in a National Child Development Study in the second
follow-up of every child born in one week in 1958. The total number of children
involved is approximately 16,000 and seventy of these children, who live in the
Borough, were each medically examined and a very comprehensive form completed.
Considerable help was given in doing this by the provision from the Sponsors
of the Study, of a special vision testing chart, a detailed booklet of instruction
and a half-hour tape recording with projector slides. As these may be
retained they will be very useful for demonstrations to newly joined Medical
Officers and Health Visitors.
The aims of the study are to gather information about the educational
progress, health, physical development and home background of these particular
children. As information is collected at each stage it is possible to learn a
great deal about children's abilities, behaviour, health and development at
particular ages, and about the services which are provided.
Finally, it was not possible to appoint either an Audiometrician or
Psychotherapist, but it is hoped that approval will be given for these appointments
to be made during the next financial year.
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