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55
Superintendent Health Visitor was undertaking Miss Driscall's
duties in America. This exchange system of health visitors has
proved eminently successful and arrangements are now being
negotiated for a similar exchange with New Zealand.
Staff meetings were held each month at which special matters
of general interest were discussed.
Student health visitors from the National Health Society
received their practical training within the department. Each
student attended for two days weekly for three months and also
attended the School Medical Department for a similar period and
in each case arrangements were made through the courtesy of the
Clerk of the Court for a visit to the Juvenile and County Courts.
The health visitors have maintained a close contact with the
day nurseries and have rendered valuable service in the follow-up
of absentees from the nurseries. Members of the staff have given
talks and demonstrations to school children and voluntary organisations
within the Borough. Distinguished visitors and postgraduate
health visitors have visited the department.
Work of Health Visitors.
The health visitors have been fully occupied in their duties of
safeguarding the health of mothers and children under five years
and in acting as infant life protection officers. Their duties
included the home visitation of expectant and nursing mothers;
children from birth to five years of age for many special as well as
routine purposes; foster-mothers and daily minders; follow-up
visits for general defects found at toddler and infant welfare
clinics to ensure that medical recommendations were carried out;
follow-up visits following the notification of infectious diseases;
initial and subsequent visits to homes of applicants for adoption
orders.
In addition to home visitation, health visitors were in regular
attendance at the infant welfare clinic at the Town Hall and at
the three health centres, where they assisted at the ante-natal, postnatal.
gynaecological, and infant and toddler clinics, mothercraft
demonstrations, ultra-violet light treatment, dental anaesthetic
sessions for expectant mothers, and mothers' clubs.
The department has arranged for the selection and admission
of children to day and residential nurseries; made arrangements
for hospital confinements for mothers in special need on medical or
social grounds and has reported cases of neglect of children to the