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Campaigns
As part of their duty to inform the public on matters relating to or associated with health,
health visitors/school nurses have taken part in publicising national and local campaigns on
Accidents in the Home, Appeals for Blood Donors, Mass X-ray, Smoking and Lung Cancer, Mental
Health, etc. Visual evidence of these which catch the eye of adults and children, such as
flannelgraphs, posters and leaflets, have been displayed in the clinics to coincide with the timing
of the campaigns.
A very important part of the health visitor/school nurse's work is the teaching of parentcraft
and home-making to individuals in their own homes and in schools. Married health visitors both
full-time and part-time are being recruited to the Area and this has made it possible to keepup the
number of health visitors on our establishment and to maintain the standard of the Health Visiting
Service.
Health Visiting and Mental Health
Health visitors' contribution to mental healthhas beenmainly in supporting families in their
day to day troubles and difficulties, in listening to a great many apparently small matters and in
guiding parents towards their own solutions to problems and in encouraging them to act upon them.
In the two Boroughs of Hornsey and Tottenham a great many people themselves seek out the health
visitor by visiting her at the welfare centre or by telephoning her thereto make an appointment for
a home visit. This early effort to talk over some particular problem does muchto attenuate it and
torelieve anxieties before the difficulty expands to larger proportions. Some troubles relate to the
care of the family during hospital confinement, the feeding and care of young children, the minding
ofscLuol children until the parents return from work, school children getting "out of hand", housing
difficulties, discharges from hospital, the care of the elderly, and matters causing trouble such as
marital relationships and disharmony within the family. Social workers in other local authority or
voluntary services have given full co-operation when requested. There is generally a very cordial
relationship with all types of social welfare workers throughout the Area,
Special Services for Problem Families
The most difficult cases taken over by the special services health visitors have been those
where one or both parents were either of sub-normal intelligence or unstable.
Family doctors and hospital psychiatrists have given considerable support and advice to
health visitors in such cases This triad of health visitor, family doctor and psychiatrist seems
to be an intrinsic combination in dealing with early signs of breakdown or other psychiatric
disturbance including those of long-standing.
Mental Welfare Officers have taken over some in emergency and have referred back a few
cases to the health visitor but these have proved to be very few numerically.
It has been interesting to examine the sources of referrals of problem families to the special
services health visitors. By farthe largest numberwere brought forward by health visitors themselves.
The remainder were reported by various local authority departments, by probation officers,