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Ministry of Health Circular on the Prevention of Break-Up of Families.
This was received with much interest and discussed at many different levels.
At a meeting of the Council's senior officers from appropriate departments, held under
the chairmanship of the Town Clerk, it was agreed that the health department should
initiate administrative proposals arising from the Circular and that the health
visitor would probably be the first person to realise that a dangerous situation was
developing in a particular family.
The local medical liaison committee (composed of doctors representing the
hospital service, general practitioners, and the public health department) recommend
that the general practitioner should be invited to attend individual case conferences
or meetings of the Council's sponsored standing conferences on children neglected or
ill treated in their own homes, when any of his patients were under consideration
this suggestion was accepted.
The health visitors-consultative committee (referred to in the last report)
discussed the circular at some length, and made a number of suggestions which were
helpful in framing recommendations to the health committee. They agreed that the
district health visitors could undertake a great deal of preventive work in relation
to problem families, but needed various kinds of support and assistance on which they
could draw. When the family had already broken down, case workers with fewer routine
responsibilities might be required to undertake the intensive work of rehabilitation.
It is hoped to place recommendations before the health committee early in 1956.
Diabetic and paedlatric liaison health visitors schemes previously discussed have
continued on a full scale and are much appreciated.
Progress has been made in establishing closer relationship between health visitors
and the general practitioners in the area. Each health visitor has called on the doctors
whose surgeries are in her district, and the health visitors have from time to time
consulted the family doctors on problems relating to their patients. One general
practitioner holds a regular weekly consultation with a health visitor at his surgery,
and has expressed his appreciation of her help. Other general practitioners have phoned
the superintendent nursing officer from time to time to discuss problems or have asked the
health visitor to visit a particular family. Here, too, a good beginning is being made
which it is hoped will grow as mutual confidence is established,
Health Education.
The Maternity and Child Welfare Centres are supplied with leaflets and posters, some
of which are basic and in regular use, while others are of a more temporary interest and
may be used in conjunction with a topical demonstration. Very good use is made of the
blackboards, particularly by those health visitors who have artistic ability. Each Centre
has the articles necessary for demonstrating baby bathing, a flannelgraph on the "stages of
labour", a birth atlas for the instruction of expectant mothers, and other visual aids such
as types of children's shoes and several items for illustrating the causes of accidents.
More elaborate aids are obtainable from the Health Department, these include a magnetic
blackboard, a selection of flannelgraphs, films, film strips and projectors. Other films
may be hired as required.
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