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HEALTH EDUCATION
All members of staff concerned with health services are responsible
for education in health as part of their normal duties. Although each
makes only a small contribution the aggregate constitutes a considerable
volume of work. The Council appointed a part-time officer to deal with
the home safety aspect of this work and health visitors and medical
officers undertake formal and informal health educational activity so
far as other commitments will allow.
There has been very considerable progress in all health education
work during the year. This has been most marked in schools and further
reference to this aspect of the work is made in the section of this
report dealing with the School Health Service. Apart from this there has
been a gradual growth based on conventional methods. Talks and
discussion groups have been held in clinics and at meetings of voluntary
organisations throughout the Borough. Posters and pamphlets have been
distributed and films shown. Regular meetings of staff are held at which
new materials are demonstrated and health education work generally was
stimulated by the appointment of a Deputy Superintendent Health Visitor
with special responsibility for this important work.
As last year, an anti-smoking clinic was held towards the end of the
year organised in association with the British Temperance Society
and was attended by approximately 75 people. As an experiment this
was followed up by a discussion group to which those attending the main
clinic were invited. Some notable success was achieved but for obvious
reasons such activities can only cover a comparatively small section of
the population. The results were similar to the previous year in that
approximately a third of those attending were for the time being able to
discontinue the habit and a considerable section of the remainder reported
a reduction in the amount smokted..
Health Education is one of the more important aspects of the work
of Advisory Centres for the Elderly which are referred to in a previous
section of this report. This comparatively new venture is growing
but of course reaches only that section of the ageing community who are
willing to attend. The lessons learned during the initial period of
these Centres will be valuable in planning future expansion.
There has been considerable demand for talks on Drug Addiction by
Youth Clubs and various other organisations. These have been met by
Medical Staff.
Home Safety
Although a part of general health education, special activities
in connection with the prevention of accidents in the home are undertaken
by the Home Safety Officer who also actB as secretary to the voluntary
Home Safety Committees in the Borough. The main Committee met four
times and the district committees as follows :-
Sutton & Cheam 7
Beddington , Wallington 6
and Carshalton
The activities of Home Safety Committees during the year continued
on similar lines as previously.
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