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HEALTH EDUCATION
The work of educating the public in the matters of health, hygiene, and
sensible living continued normally throughout the year,, There were no massive
campaigns on any particular subject,, but on every occasion when members of the
staff visited factories houses or catering establishments canteens or food
shops, a few words on some special item of hygiene would be spoken, and each
talk to youth groups voluntary associations church meetings etc was treated
as an opportunity for health propaganda Film strips were used in combination
with talks and in addition poster publicity was used in sequence during the
year, fresh posters being displayed on the subject topical to the appropriate
season ,
A conference was held in London by the National Association for the Prevention
of Tuberculosis during the year, and speakers from all parts of the world
took part in this, It was felt that preventive measures had played a great part
in the decline in tuberculosis, reduction of which seems to be going on in all
parts of the world where preventive measures are well carried out, The only
places where tuberculosis is still a disease increasing in intensity and severity
appear to be where the population is backward or preventive measures are made
difficult because of overcrowding or the sheer mechanical difficulty of obtaining
proper sanitation and where the Mass X Ray unit as a means of diagnosis has not
yet been developed.
Of the preventive measures it was considered that not least among them was
the continuous health education of the public, in personal hygiene and the method
of the transference of the disease, It was said by more than one speaker that
health education, as part of the treatment of a patient discovered to be positive,
was so effective that very often the infectious case of tuberculosis was very
much less likely to infect a member of his family or member of the public
with any germs of his, because cleanliness and personal hygiene had become part
of his daily life and automatic,
HOME ACCIDENTS
In 1955, 16 persons died from accidental causes other than motor vehicle
injuries, and, while it is not known what proportion of these were preventable,
it can be assumed that quite a large number of them were,
This figure for accidental deaths is higher than in 1954 and it can be
assumed that for the number of persons who died as a result of injury caused by
accident there would be a very much higher proportion of persons who suffered
accidents ofamajor character and a still higher proportion of minor accidents,
A few cases of Home Accident occurrence were notified to the Department
during the year and the details of these are as follows -
Adult Female, aged 35 years - Scald to forearm due to steam.
Girl, aged 3½ years - Poisoned by drinking disinfectant.
Adult Female aged 35 years - Cuts and bruises caused by the
breaking and falling of a clothes
pulley
Adult Female, aged 25 years - Fall due to tripping over badly
laid linoleum,
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