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when circumstances are favourable be the better able to achieve this by
dealing with groups of mothers at clinic sessions. It is appreciated
it will be a long day though before she can feel so satisfied with all the
mothers on her district that she can reduce the home visiting, to
negligible proportions.
13. The Education Act, 1944, imposes an obligation on Local
Education Authorities to make arrangements for securing the provision
of free medical treatment for pupils either under this Act or otherwise.
Such treatments as have been provided under the arrangements of the
school medical services will be provided free of cost, while in addition
free treatment of the same class of child will be provided for those
admitted to the hospitals of the County Council. It would seem that
such facilities as are at present offered at the school minor ailment clinics
might be extended, and so in this way the free service to the school
child enlarged in scope. On the other hand the provision of medical
treatment under the Act does not include treatment in the pupil's home.
As far as is practicable children under five taking advantage of the
treatment facilities of the Council's maternity and child welfare services
will in future also be enabled to obtain these services free of charge to
the parents. In the same way, nursing and expectant mothers can
obtain free of cost treatment such as dental (though not the provision
of dentures) ophthalmic and light treatment.
It will be long before the treatment services available for school
children can really be classed as " comprehensive facilities for free
treatment." Circular 29 requires that the extended provisions must be
considered in relation to the Government's declared intention to introduce
a comprehensive health service as part of their reconstruction
policy, this service to cover school children together with all other
members of the household. When introduced in its entirety the scheme
for the treatment of children of school age will probably be one capable
of embracing children up to school age. By that time very substantial
additional sections of the community will be covered by free treatment
services.
Those who are agreed on the necessity of the provision of a health
service for the community divide on the issue of whether the service
should be based essentially on the arrangements of the present panel
system, the patient having to attend the surgery of the doctor, or
alternatively be based on the service provided by a team of doctors
working from health centres. At the moment there seems to be no
general authority to arrange for treatment by a doctor at his surgery,
whereas there does seem to be authority to extend the scope of treatment
provided at the minor ailment clinics.
14. Before the war, although many local authorities had made
arrangements by which children could be immunized against diphtheria,
there was little active encouragement from the Ministry. There has been
a radical change though during the war when the Ministry by various
forms of propaganda encouraged parents to have their children protected,
and even provided the material to local authorities free of charge. The
result is that the country is in a very much safer position as regards the