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opportunity of spending one day observing the work of the health visitor.
During the year 407 students from various fields attended sessions with health
visitors.
Liaison of Health Visitors with General Practitioners
It is the Council's policy to extend the number of health visitors
in liaison with general practitioners in group practices as quickly as possible.
The health visitor chosen is the one who carries the heaviest caseload for the
group practice. When a visit or information about a patient in another health
visitor's geographical area is required, the health visitor attached to the
group contacts her colleagues to obtain the information and reports back to
the doctor.
During the year four health visitors started regular weekly consultations
or closer links with general practitioners in group practices, making
a total of five such arrangements by the end of the year.
Immigrant Health
The medical officer of health is notified by airports and seaports of
new arrivals in the country and the addresses to which they are going.
The health visitors then attend to offer advice on services and persuade
them to register with a general practitioner and to have a chest X-ray if this
had not been done on entry.
Of 112 immigrants whose arrivals were notified, 76 were visited during
the year; the remainder were either untraceable or were known to have moved to
other areas.
VACCINATION AND IMMUNISATION
The acceptance rate by parents for vaccination and immunisation is
reasonable in the borough. There was a fall in the number of primary vaccinations
and immunisations recorded but this move resulted from a change in the procedure
whereby local authorities are informed of the work undertaken by general
practitioners, rather than an actual decline. It is encouraging to report
an increase in reinforcing doses.