View report page

The Care of Medically and. Physically Handicapped Persons
A detailed review of the progress made by services for the handicapped
will be found in those parts of this report dealing with the Welfare and Mental
Health Services? reference is made to handicapped school children in my report
on the School Health Service. Home nurses are also responsible for the nursing
of many physically handicapped persons in their own homes and for advising on the
nursing aids necessary to make life more comfortable for the disabled persons
in their care, while health visitors support many families with handicapped
children. Social workers are responsible for social support, occupational
therapy, sheltered employment and the provision of aids to daily living.
Each section of the Health and Welfare Department has, by force
of necessity in the early days of the life of the Borough, developed its
own part of the total service on a day to day basis. Situations had to be met
and dealt with as they arose and procedures established to deal with future
similar situations. In the months to come a re-appraisal will be necessary
to modify and adapt those procedures to ensure the best use of available
menpower and the maximum benefit to the recipients of the services. The care
of handicapped and potentially handicapped children will be linked more closely
with the care of handicapped adults. As the mental health services evolve
they will become more closely associated with the general provisions. It is,
for example, envisaged in the development plan that a sheltered workshop for
both physically and mentally handicapped persons might be provided. This
process of further integration will be of undoubted benefit to the Borough
both financially and practically. Workers of many disciplines have valuable
contributions to make to the total care of the handicapped with advantage to
all.
The Health of Schoolchildren
The School Health Service is essentially a preventative health
service for children at school. It is also specially concerned with handicapped
children both in ordinary and special schools and with the medical aspects of the
learning difficulties of children. In order to carry out these functions the
closest possible relationship between the School Health Service and school staffs
is required. This involves some invasion into school time and, whilst this is
kept to the minimum necessary for efficient working, the difficulties experienced
by teachers are fully appreciated.
Much thought has recently been given to the continuing value of the
traditional practice of medically examining all children in a number of age
groups; in order that more time can be devoted to the needs of individual
children a more selective type of medical examination is envisaged. This has the
advantage of bringing the doctor into a closer relationship with the parents and
members of the school staff concerned with the individual child, allowing more
time to be devoted to the needs of those pupils most in need of medical help.
Consideration is being given to this question at the present timeD
The general physical condition of pupils is good, 14 only being
considered unsatisfactory during the year. It is more common to find that
pupils are suffering from oveiwiutrition than under-nutrition and the disadvantages
of obesity are sufficiently marked to warrant early corrective action by attention
to diet in these cases.
Mention is made in the section of the report dealing with Health
Visiting of the screening tests to detect deafness in pre-school children.
School children are similarly screened during their second year at school to
detect those who may have subsequently developed defective hearing! it will
be noted that eleven children were supplied with hearing aids during the year.
7