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21
HEALTH SERVICES OF THE AREA
(A) PERSONAL HEALTH
In Middlesex, the Local Health Authority under the National Health
Service Act, 1946, is the Middlesex County Council. The County Council
under its scheme of decentralized administration has divided the County
into ten local health areas, each with a local health committee to deal
with the day to day administration of the delegated functions of Part III
of the National Health Service Act and the Nurseries and Child Minders
Regulation Act. The Borough of Harrow constitutes Health Area 5 and
through its local area committee provides certain services under the
following sections of the Act:—
Section 22 Care of Mothers and Young Children.
Section 23 Midwifery.
Section 24 Health Visiting.
Section 25 Home Nursing.
Section 26 Vaccination and Immunisation.
Section 28 Prevention of Illness, Care and After-care.
Section 29 Domestic Help.
Care of Mothers and Young Children.
Under this section regular clinic sessions are held each week throughout
the Area. Here expectant mothers are provided with ante-natal care
throughout pregnancy, receive advice and care of the expectant mother
and child through the medium of mothercraft classes, and also take part
in ante-natal relaxation classes which have undoubtedly proved of great
value and assistance to the mother at the time of the confinement. In
addition, at the infant welfare sessions, advice on the feeding, hygiene
and general management of young children is available, together with
facilities for vaccination against smallpox, immunisation against diphtheria,
whooping cough, tetanus and poliomyelitis. Dental clinics are
available, providing complete dental treatment for expectant and nursing
mothers and children.
The practice of sending ante-natal patients to Edgware General
Hospital for the necessary blood examinations had to be reviewed during
the year as the hospital authorities advised that they could only deal
with patients actually booked for confinement at the hospital. As they
could carry out the necessary examinations but could not take the
specimens, arrangements were made for the specimens to be taken at the
local ante-natal clinics and then sent to the hospital laboratories tor
report. At the same time all general practitioners were advised about this
service and the offer made to take blood specimens from their patients if
they cared to send them to the local clinics. Judging by the number of
specimens taken at the clinic this service seems to be serving a useful
Purpose.