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49
HEALTH EDUCATION
Although health education together with improvements in environmental
health, nutrition, medicine and material wealth have, over the
last 30 years, contributed towards the spectacular results achieved in some
fields of health, such as that of maternity and child welfare, this improvement
had not always been reflected in other fields where such factors have
been counteracted by a growth of habits, often encouraged by persuasive
advertising, which are thought to be injurious to personal health. This is
particularly so in the case of men, whose expectation of life has increased
but slightly. There is no doubt that, compared with women who are the
target of a great deal of health education throughout their child bearing
years, many adult men pay little attention to the maintenance of good
health.
Mental Health Week in Harrow was inaugurated with a coffee
morning in Sopers Restaurant, a function which was very well supported
by the Mayor, M.P.'s and 180 representatives of local organisations who
then visited the exhibition which was staged in the store for the week.
In addition to those sections dealing with careers and Council establishments,
the voluntary societies, who do much useful work, were also invited
to contribute to the exhibition. All the Council's mental health establishments
held open days, but excluding those who have some personal interest
the response from the general public was still somewhat disappointing. It
was encouraging, however, that 6 local grammar schools accepted the
offer of a talk to senior students on mental health.
A mobile home safety exhibition organised by Messrs. Kodak toured
council clinics for a week, another example of co-operation between
progressive private enterprise and the Local Authority. During the year
the "Stands for Carry-Cots (Safety) Regulations" became operative, as,
in recent years, several babies left in carry-cots supported on open ended
stands were suffocated when the carry-cots slipped off the stands. The
children's nightdresses regulations were also amended and incorporated
in the new "Nightdresses (Safety) Regulations 1967", under which adult
nightdresses which are not made of low inflammability material must now
bear a warning notice to that effect. Home safety publicity is prominently
displayed in all clinics, and arrangements were made for a speaker from
RoSPA to address the Physically Handicapped Club on their special
problems. Publicity was also given to a "Medicines—with Care" exhibition
in Ruislip arranged by the Harrow Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society.
A further Clean Air Week was held in central Harrow, the exhibition
at the Harrow School of Art incorporating both clean air and home
heating, to which the gas, electricity, solid fuel and oil industries all
contributed stands. In addition mobile exhibitions toured those areas
about to become smoke controlled. In Harrow many households are