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38
Liaison arrangements take place in Edgware, North Harrow, South
Harrow, Wealdstone and Kenton.
Two pilot schemes of full group attachment have been started in 1970.
Observations by health visitors on such attachment schemes include the
following
District referrals from general practice are obviously more effective as
help can be given much more quickly and in a variety of ways.
The health visitor will, through her personal knowledge and experience
of Local Authority Services, use these to the full.
The benefit to the individual patient is permanent. The health visitor
feels that the service to other individuals, who are not known to the general
practice because of apparent good health or lack of obvious social,
emotional or psychological crises or inadequacies, do in fact miss possible
help. These are the families that the health visitor involved in the preventative
work in a geographical area will normally be seeing from time to
time arising from routine visiting. Routine visiting to all the patients in a
group practice would be desirable but is an impossible task. The general
practitioner receives some help with pressing problems. The health visitor
is able to gain more knowledge about the individual from medical records.
Another group practice reports that the presence of the health visitor
at ante-natal and post-natal sessions is a great advantage, also the link of
the health visitor with immunisation programmes and the computer
system appears to show better results with a full attachment of a health
visitor in the group practice. The attendance for hearing tests in the group
practice is 80-100%. Routine audiometric tests for children with frequent
otits media are arranged to the benefit of the patients. Visits to school
children have been increased in the group practice, also the middle aged and
elderly. The health visitor feels there is more job satisfaction in her new
role and a better service to the community.
Preparation for Confinement
Mothercraft and relaxation classes continue to be given in all clinics
by the health visitors and 8-9 classes are given to expectant mothers during
their later weeks of pregnancy in preparation for the confinement. Full
instructions are given to the expectant mothers in the skill of baby
management, different stages of labour analgesia, diet, immunisation, etc.
The physical and emotional changes in pregnancy are discussed. Film
evenings are arranged in four clinics during the year for expectant mothers
and their husbands, to show the birth of a baby. The health visitor introduces
the film and answers questions after the film. Sixteen evenings have
been arranged with films for the expectant mother and her husband
during 1970.