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The pupils receive practical instruction on the district and as a stimulus
to interest, they have lectures on public health matters together with
visits to such places as the Colne Valley Water Works and a dairy farm.
Twenty-one obstetric students visited the department as part of their
training programme and they spent a day with the midwives, observing
District techniques on home visits and at ante-natal clinics.
Notification of Intention to Practice
Sixteen midwives notified their intention to practice within the
Borough as is required under the rules of the Central Midwives Board. All
were midwives employed by the Local Health Authority.
Section 24 — Health Visiting
Establishment
The total health visiting establishment at 31st December, 1968, was as
follows
Superintendent Health Visitor
Deputy Superintendent Health Visitor
Group Advisors — 2
Fieldwork Instructors — 3
Health Visitors — 25
Training
Harrow is responsible for the training of integrated students in health
visiting. During their training as state registered nurses, district nurses and
health visitors, which takes four years for the three certificates, students
receive practical training in the local authority services under the supervision
of a fieldwork instructor. Wherever possible the same fieldwork
instructor provides tuition for the whole course to give support and
continuity of instruction.
Meetings with the tutors of the Chiswick Polytechnic and the fieldwork
instructors take place at regular intervals to discuss the progress of
the students and to link theoretical and practical experiences.
The training of fieldwork instructors has been increased and three
fieldwork instructors were seconded for their second fourteen days
training for this very responsible post. Students return from various
training schools to their sponsoring authority for the three months'
practical period of supervised work.
To enable full supervision to be given to the training programme a
second group advisor received four weeks' training and attended a
residential administrative course divided into two periods of two weeks.
During the three months' practical training, a hundred families are in
the care of each student.