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11.1.4 The register is used to review children regularly so that they may have
priate treatment and training and be fully assessed for special educational treatment.
The fact that only very few handicaps are detected for the first time in the school-age
child is confirmation of the success of the diagnosis by developmental paediatric screening
of the pre-school child. The regular review of children on the register results also in
social work support or counselling being given and in parents being encouraged to make
the best use of the services available.

11.1.6 In 1967, 69 children had congenital abnormalities detected at birth during the
year and were so reported to the Registrar General; the figure for 1968 was 50.
11.1.7 Special clinics are held at two of the family health clinics for mentally retarded
children. Eighteen sessions at which 30 children were seen were held during 1967;
twenty sessions at which 28 children were seen were held during 1968.
11.1.8 it has been the department's policy to extend developmental screening to all
family health clinics, and Camden has probably more doctors who have taken the six
weeks' course in developmental paediatrics which is organised by the Society of Medical
Officers of Health than any other local authority in the country. As a direct result of
this, the early recognition of children with handicaps has enabled us to identify such
children to the Inner London Education Authority which, in turn, established a nursery
class for them in Franklin Delano Roosevelt School.
11.2 Responsible for the health of pre-school children is Dr. Audrey Trevor Evans,
Principal Medical Officer, whose great enthusiasm and sound judgement I acknowledge
with gratitude.
HEALTH VISITING
12.1.1 Section 24 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, specifies that every local
health authority shall make provision in its area for the visiting of persons in their homes
by health visitors for the purpose of advising on the care of young children, persons
suffering from illness, and expectant and nursing mothers, and on the measures necessary
to prevent the spread of infection. The health visitor's work accordingly embraces, either
directly or indirectly, all the health and social services provided for every member of the
family and contains a substantial element of health education. In Camden, in view of the
role of her colleague the geriatric visitor in the care of the aged, the health visitor concentrates
largely on the mother and young child and gives particular support to mothers
with handicapped children. The health visitor is also available to school doctors and
head teachers for consultation, although most of the nursing activities in the school are
carried out by school nurses under the supervision of the health visitor. One of her fundamental
tasks is the early detection of handicaps, physical or mental, in children, and in
some cases following up the children after entry into school. She plays an important role
in the prevention of children being taken into care, by arranging for them to be looked
after within their families in the mother's enforced absence; or by neighbours; in day
nurseries; or hy child-minders; and here she co-operates closely with the child care
officers of the Children's Department.
12.1.2 A separate paragraph (13) in this report deals with the attachment of health
visitors and home nurses to group practices. There are several such schemes in Camden,
forming closer links with general practitioners in the borough but, as reported elsewhere,
an average increase in the number of attachments is unlikely owing to the structure of
general practice in Camden.
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