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Women of middle age
Retired people
Husbands of wives who are expecting their first child
Men and women immediately before and after
retirement
Couples immediately before and after marriage
Separated and divorced people
People suffering from sudden physical illness
People with stress conditions
Any other special groups will also be studied
Individuals partaking in the groups will be assessed
on the scale of social function devised by Mr Heimler,
to assess the five following areas of human needs or
satisfactions—
Financial security or satisfaction
Sexual satisfaction
Family relationship
Friendship and social contacts
Work and interests
The scale of social function gives a maximum
possible score of 100 and an effective maximum of
80 plus. Mr Heimler found that people who scored
above 60 were functioning adequately in the
community and above 70 were well contented. When
people were seriously disturbed, whether temporarily
or permanently, their ability to be satisfied was
reduced. People scoring below 30 were virtually never
part of society and needed institutional care. A
definite relationship has been established between
normality and the ability to be satisfied.
Each group will comprise between eight and ten
people and, apart from the research and educational
functions undertaken by the group advisors, careful
recordings will be made of the kind of problems each
particular group presents and solutions will be
suggested.
It is hoped that the findings of the project will
enable a careful evaluation to be made of the nature
of the problems which the groups might have and a
measurement of the success of the psychologists' and
sociologists' approach. Particular aspects of health
education and prevention can then be directed at
those members of the public considered to be most
in need.
The help of additional psychiatric social workers,
consultants and statisticians, will be required for the
next stage of the project.
Cervical Cytology
The importance of early detection of this condition
is now universally accepted and preliminary meetings
took place with the consultant gynaecologists and
pathologists at the West Middlesex and Ashford
Hospitals when plans to introduce screening facilities
for women at risk were discussed.
The Council agreed to the establishment of such a
service in the Borough and it is hoped to put the
scheme into operation under Section 28 of the
National Health Service Act during 1966.
Care of Mothers and Young
Children * Section 22
Ante-natal Clinics
Ante-natal care is concerned with the health of
pregnant women and the diagnosis and treatment of
disorders and diseases of pregnancy. Health education
is important and efforts are made to see that the
prospective mother acquires sufficient knowledge of
pregnancy, labour, the lying-in period and breast
feeding. Preparation for labour is encouraged by way
of instruction and practice in relaxation and antenatal
exercises.
Ante-natal sessions are held at seven clinics in the
borough and special mothercraft and relaxation
sessions are also held. At most sessions a medical
officer and health visitors are in attendance and
midwives are encouraged to attend as and when their
duties permit. Some sessions, with a midwife only in
attendance, are held. The number of medical officer
sessions and attendances during the year was 361
and 2,569 respectively. Three hundred and seventy
attendances were made at 51 midwives' sessions and
447 expectant mothers attended mothercraft and
relaxation classes on 2,390 occasions.
A proportion of the cases booked by hospitals for
confinement are referred to the Department for
routine ante-natal care, and are referred back to the
hospital at the 36th week of pregnancy.
In all cases it is advisable that the mother should
have a post-natal examination some six weeks after
the birth of the child. Where this has not been carried
out by the hospital or the doctor attending the confinements,
mothers are invited to the ante-natal clinic.
During the year 130 such examinations were carried
out.
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