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attention given to patients by other members.
It is now becoming more widely used between
hospital and local authority clinics, also between
the general practitioners and midwives on
domiciliary work.
Maternity Services Liaison Committee
The committee meets approximately every three
months, and consists of members representing the
Regional Hospital Board, the South-West
Middlesex Hospital Management Committee,
the Tottenham Group Hospital Management
Committee, Hammersmith Hospital, Queen
Charlotte's Hospital, West Middlesex Hospital,
Bearsted Hospital, the London Boroughs of
Hounslow, Ealing, Hammersmith and Richmondupon-Thames,
the Middlesex Executive
Committee, the Middlesex Local Medical
Committee, and the Local Medical Committee
for the County of London.
The Maternity Liaison Committee met twice
during the year when such matters as the various
forms for use in connection with planned 48 hour
discharges and the maternity register and child
observation records were considered, as well as
the usual review of catchment areas for the
maternity units within the south-west Middlesex
group.
Health Visiting Section 24
The most important part of the health visitor's
work lies in the homes of the families which she
visits, as it is there that she develops the close
personal relationships on which her success
depends both as a health teacher and family
adviser. It is after she has come to be known and
trusted that members of families will send for her
in time of need. Other opportunities for health
visitors to discuss subjects relevant to health are
afforded at ante and post natal, child welfare and
mothercraft and relaxation clinic sessions and at
various talks and demonstrations she is able to
give. Meantime trained nurses relieve health
visitors of most of the routine work in schools
and clinics to enable the latter to have the
maximum time available for the special advisory
work for which they have been trained.
Staff
At the end of the year the staff consisted of the
superintendent health visitor and the full-time
equivalent of 17.8 health visitors and nine clinic
nurses. The deputy superintendent had obtained
a superintendent's post towards the end of the
year and the vacancy she left was being advertised.
Training
During the year one health visitor attended a
field worker's instruction course at Chiswick
Polytechnic, one attended a refresher course and
one a study conference. The superintendent health
visitor also attended three conferences, one of a
day's duration and the other two of three days'
duration.
Students
The borough sponsored four trainee health
visitors whose training commenced in September.
The shortage of health visitors continues to
impose severe restrictions on any expansion of the
work but plans for liaison between health visitors
and groups of family doctors are included in our
forward planning to be put into effect as soon as
possible. Meantime much informal liaison with
family doctors, hospitals, the staff of Children's,
Education and Welfare Departments, as well as
with many voluntary bodies, is already an
established practice in the borough.
Home Nursing Section 25
The administration of the home nursing service
continued in the same way as for 1965 though
much thought was given to the possibility of
attachment of home nurses to family doctors
where group practice is carried on. On request
one nurse in the Feltham area now attends at
surgery for two hours on one morning each week.
It has been found that the nurse is not always
occupied for the full two hours and is able to
leave as soon as the necessary treatment has been
given. Visits made during 1966 totalled 91,371 to
2,414 patients. Of these 1,530 were aged 65 years
or over, many of whom are in the 80-90 years
age group and are feeble and slow if at all mobile
and tend to take up much of the nurse's time.
Incontinence pads are being used more and more
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