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Problem Families
This group of families continue to make
demands on the health visitors both within
the health visiting field itself and in the
liaison work with other departments and
the N S P C C
With more and more community nurses
becoming attached to general practitioners
it may be that some problems will be highlighted
ealier and primary prevention will
become a reality more often
New assessment forms have been
instigated by the principal nursing officer
(health visiting) and these form a register
not only of problem families but also of
potential problem families
In working with these families our aims
are to.
(a) identify needs and difficulties and then
consider them in the context of the whole
family
(b) make effective use and organisation of
the resources available;
(c) occasion early referral where necessary
to other departments or agencies;
(d) give adequate support to the worker most
closely involved and improved communications
between all the agencies concerned
Health Education
Mr W Duffy Health Educator reports as
follows:-
Health education seeks the development in
people of a growing sense of responsibility
for their own health and that of the community
It is a continuous process performed daily
by the professional staff of the department in
their various capacities and is conducted in
the home, at clinics at places or work and
at specially arranged meetings which are
usually held in the evenings
The acceptance of positive health as a
basic human need the necessity to plan
programmes and conduct evaluation studies
along with our desire to improve health
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knowledge and practices in schools has
resulted in the establishment of a health
education section and a full-time health
educator was appointed in May 1969
Health education programme planning
may be described as a process of locating
and defining a problem (or sub-problem)
exploring its nature and scope considering
the various solutions and taking action with
respect to the chosen solution To realise
the maximum benefits of an educational
programme there can be no doubt that
evaluation - the systematic accumulation
and assessment of facts and opinions for
the purpose of planning and decision making
is an integral part of the programme development
process
The arrangements for the ordering and
distribution of posters and pamphlets has
been improved and posters are changed once
each month on public notice boards throughout
the borough There has also been an increase
in the number of talks given to public
organisations and many of these talks are
now supported by the use of films and display
material
If health education can bring to every
member of the community an enrichment of
his personality of his physical and mental
health and a true appreciation of his rights
it also pledges the individual to a sense of
responsibility for the general welfare In
preparing him for such duties, health education
becomes a source of civic education and social
solidarity Those who fail to respect their
own lives cannot respect the lives of others
Health education can give a man an under
standing of this respect and it should eventually
develop into a form of education for living
Home Safety
Mr V Jones Home Safety Officer reports as
follows
The Home Safety Committee under the Chairmanship
of Alderman Mrs EWW Basley have
continued their efforts over the past year to
reduce the number of accidents which occur in
and around the home The following matters
have been given particular attention during
the year under review