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60
HEALTH VISITORS.
The Superintendent Health Visitor, Miss Blanchard, reports as
follows:—
At the beginning of the year there were seventeen Health
Visitors and a Superintendent. During the year some Health
Visitors left and others were appointed, the number at the end of the
year remaining at 17.
In April, 1946, Miss H. Townsend who had been seconded to
the Ministry of Labour from August, 1940, returned to the department.
Miss K. Drage, seconded to the Ministry of Health in
January, 1942, was permanently appointed by the Ministry from
May 1st, 1946, and left the service of this Borough.
The Health visiting duties continued to be mainly concerned
with the general care of nursing and expectant mothers, and children
up to five years, including home visiting and clinic duties, and
visiting of foster children and homes of applicants for adoption
orders.
Student Health Visitors of the National Health Society have
continued to attend for practical training during the year, and many
visits have been paid by pre and post-certificate students from the
Royal College of Nursing. Women Public Health Officers Association,
Hospital Almoners, and midwifery students have also come for
instruction, as well as a large number of visitors from this and other
countries.
In April of 1946 the Health Visitors took part in a special
enquiry undertaken by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
and Population Investigation Committee to enquire into
certain social and economic aspects of motherhood in Britain. All
mothers who had babies between March 3rd and 9th were asked to
co-operate and to answer certain questions designed by the Committee
of Enquiry. The number of enquiries was approximately 50 and all
but two of the mothers were most helpful. This enquiry entailed a
lot of work and took a good deal of the health visitors' time, but
we hope that when the report is published it will be found that some
useful information has been collected and that it will be helpful to
the community.
The department received, as always, very active assistance from
Inspector Martin of the National Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children, the Invalid Children's Aid Association, and
Almoners of various Hospitals.