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improvement in the treatment of this relatively common but annoying condition by the use of an
electric alarm which wakens the child as soon as the bed wetting commences. Although the
rationale of the treatment seems self-evident, its precise mode of operation is known to be complex.
Experience suggests that considerable support for families is necessary if success rates are to
approach the desired 100%. In spite of a substantial increase in the number of alarm machines
owned by the department, the enormous demand for treatment of the condition revealed by the
new clinic resulted in substantial waiting lists.
Mr. Peter Busfield was appointed by the Committee as its first consultant adviser. His advice
with the orthopaedic problems arising in special schools within the Borough provides a valuable
addition to the services which the Committee is able to provide.
Facilities for psychiatric investigation and treatment amongst children in the area continue
to fall below known demands. The assistance provided by Dr. Urquhart and the staff of the Child
Guidance Clinic is considerable, and continues to enable the service to meet most emergency
demands. Negotiations with the North West Regional Hospital Board had reached the stage of
agreed practical proposals by the end of the year.
Recruitment of speech therapists, particularly on a full time basis presented problems
throughout the year but again substantial improvements were in prospect by its close. The very
exciting facilities for speech therapy and for the teaching of students which are being included
in the new health centres will be very attractive to speech therapists interested in advanced
treatment work amongst children.
Health Education
A study day on drug abuse proved most successful, although the attendance of teachers
for whom the day was primarily designed was a little disappointing. A subsequent series of
seminars held in schools provided detailed information for a wider range of teaching staff. The
assistance of the Metropolitan Police at these seminars was particularly helpful.
The appointment of a principal health education officer on the staff of the health department
raised anxieties that the teachers' primary responsibility for the education of the pupil was being
encroached. The health education unit exists to provide specialist support for teachers as they
seek to introduce health topics to their pupils and to provide a necessary advisory service concerning
the presentation of particular subjects and the choice of appropriate teaching aids. By the
end of the year a number of pilot projects in a variety of schools had been established.
Special Education
On 1 st April, 1971, children of school age formerly excluded from the education system were
integrated into it by the transfer of administrative responsibility from the health department to the
education department of Moorcroft special school. The transfer did nothing to increase the number
of places available, and increased provision for severely mentally handicapped school children
is an urgent priority in the development of special educational facilities in the Borough. St. Michael's
school for physically handicapped children terminated its responsibilities for residential care at
the end of 1971, as discussions continue for its adaptation to meet the more specific special
educational requirements of the Borough. Hillingdon is certainly large enough to support a viable
unit for the satisfactory education of children who by reason of physical handicap or other seriously
disabling medical conditions are not able to make the progress in ordinary schools of which they
are known to be capable.
Nutrition
The maxim that the School Health Service is today more concerned with the over-weight
than with the under-weight child no doubt contributed to the initial scarcity of informed professional
opinion concerning the desirability of providing school milk for children in junior schools.
It should be remembered, however, that the over-weight school child is mal-nourished not wellnourished;
the child is receiving an excess of certain types of food, not of all types of food. Since
milk is one of the most well-balanced natural foods any reduction in its intake by growing children
would certainly not assist the problem of the over-weight child, and could seriously threaten the
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