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The liaison scheme with Kingsbury Maternity Hospital has continued
for a further year. Two health visitors attend for a series of four weeks at
the paediatric out-patient clinic held by Dr. Barrie from the Charing Cross
group. Discussions take place in conjunction with the clinic, between
medical students, health visitors and pupil midwives. Valuable information
can be exchanged between the specialist and the health visitor, both being
involved with the same patients. Information is given to other health
visitors and clinic doctors. A rota system, allowing all health visitors to
attend, makes it possible to keep in touch with new drugs, new teaching
methods and hospital techniques.
This working relationship and personal contact between hospital and
health department is a most useful one for both sides, and a better service
to the patients can be given with such a link. Study days, arranged by
Edgware General Hospital with the geriatric department, nursing sisters in
hospital and local authority staff have been found to be instructive and
enjoyable. Study days at Mount Vernon Hospital have also been attended
by some representatives from the Harrow health visiting and nursing staff.
Meetings between the Principal Tutor and senior health visiting staff have
taken place to discuss the needs of student nurses and their programmes in
the community health field.
Student Visits to the Area
During the year 24 students from Harrow Technical College taking a
pre-nursing course attended 1 day a week for 3 weeks in groups of 5-8
students to have an introduction to community health work in the London
Borough of Harrow. They visited Child Health Clinics, day nurseries, and
accompanied health visitors on some suitable home visits. An introduction
was given to the students before they started their observations, and a
written report was presented by all students in a seminar during their last
session. The students and tutors found the experience most useful.
Student nurses from Middlesex Hospital visited Harrow 4 times a year
for 3 days. A total of 36 nurses from Middlesex Hospital received this
training to observe activities of community care, clinics for infants and
toddlers, special hearing tests and home visiting to mothers and babies,
school children and the elderly. The programme was followed up by a
discussion at the hospital with their tutor and a senior representative from
the health visiting team. Similar programmes are arranged for the Edgware
student nurses and 50 student nurses visited from Edgware General
Hospital. Case discussions followed these visits in the hospital, attended by
a health visitor group adviser. Integrated students from Hillingdon
Hospital, senior pupils at Heathfield School, trainee medical social
workers, student teachers and senior pupils from Blackwell School have
visited the department, also student health visitors from other parts of
the country.