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Of the initial recommendations, 12 were withdrawn, either by the patient or the
referring agency, before consideration by the Council's medical officer; and of the
131 thus reviewed, 125 applications were approved. Of these, 19 were subsequently
withdrawn for various reasons, leaving 106 for whom convalescence was finally arranged,
most having a period of two week's recuperative holiday.
The procedure for assessment of the financial circumstances of each applicant in
accordance with the Council's scale, continued as in previous years.
Apart from the summer holiday period, no difficulty was experienced in placing the
applicants, 26 convalescent homes being used by the department.

In addition to the above, 37 children under the age of 15 years were sent to convalescent
homes following recommendation by the Chest Physicians as part of the preventive care
and after care of tuberculosis patients.
Details of the convalescence provided for mothers and young children and for school
children will be found on pages 43 and 121 respectively.
5. Health Education.
Health education activities were continued over a wide field during the year.
Talks supplemented by film strips, sound films, posters, models, etc., were given on
a variety of health subjects to parents and others at the various clinics arid centres during
the year. Requests for lectures were received from interested organisations in the Borough;
and individual speakers sometimes sought material to illustrate or supplement their talks.
All these requests were met to the fullest extent which the departmental resources permitted.
Senior members of the department have taken part in the instruction of D.P.H. students,
student health visitors, student sanitary inspectors and nursery students. During the year
arrangements were made for lectures to be given to student nurses in the block training schemes
run by the West Ham Group Hospital Management Committee and Whipps Cross Hospital. Their
syllabus, which now includes instruction in the social aspects of disease, involves both
lectures on and practical demonstrations of the Local Authority Services. It is a most valuable
development in the training of the nursing profession and helps the students to understand the
linking up of the medical care of the patient before and after his stay in hospital.
For the furtherance of health education measures In the prevention of food poisoning,
the West Ham Clean Food Advisory Association, which is sponsored by the Council, continued its
steady campaign during the year. In Its various activities in the field of clean food hygiene
special mention should be made of the enthusiastic response to the competitions held for the
school children of the Borough - the future food handlers and housewives. The standard of entry
was very high, and it is clear that a valuable opportunity was taken and fully utilised to impress
the practical application of food hygiene, not only upon the children but also upon their parents.
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