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CLINICAL SESSIONS
19.3 The 10-session working week, established last year, continued to operate;
evening sessions were held once a week in two clinics. In all 1,899 sessions were
worked.
DENTAL INSPECTIONS
19.4 Again all infants and junior schools had dental inspections and good liaison
was maintained with the head teachers.
ORTHODONTICS
19.5 Orthodontic treatment was carried out by the Eastman Dental Hospital at the
Province of Natal clinic under the special arrangement which exists between the Hospital
and the Authority. University College Dental School also attended to a number of
orthodontic cases.
SPECIAL CASES
19. 6 We were greatly indebted to University College Hospital who, by special
arrangement, attended to a number of handicapped children during the year.
STAFF
19.7.1 The year was marred by the very serious illness of one of our officers, Mrs.
Simon; during her long absence Mr. Ravid undertook part-time duty as locum tenens.
19.7.2 The situation regarding dental surgery assistants continued to be extremely
difficult and use had to be made of agency employees. This was both uneconomic and
unsatisfactory.
COURSES AND CONFERENCES
19.8 The following courses were allocated:-
January Child Dental Health (Messrs. Mailer and
Riddell)
April Post Graduate Study Group (Mr. Anderson)
June B.D.A. Annual Conference (Mr. Mailer)
October Mr. Mailer attended the course organised
by the University of London for the
Diploma in Dental Public Health of the
Royal College of Surgeons.
GERIATRIC VISITING SERVICE
20.1 There are some 33,000 people of pensionable age in Camden, of whom about
10,000 live alone. Mainly through the geriatric visiting service, we are gradually getting
to know more of them individually, and the numbers on our 'Visiting, List' have risen
steadily - 4,700 at the end of 1966; 5,500 at the end of 1967; 5,723 at the end of 1968.
20.2 During 1967 the establishment of geriatric visitors was increased from 20 to
23. Geriatric visitors are all State Registered Nurses, many holding in addition other
qualifications such as the Health Visitor's Certificate, or Certificates in District
Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing, or Health Education. The basic function of the geriatric
visitors is to spot need. They aim at discovering physical, mental and social deterioration
in the elderly early enough to minimize their effects, and to initiate preventive and
supportive action from appropriate sources before changes become irreversible. It has
been found that many old people are not in regular contact with their general practitioners,
although they may be in need of medical advice and treatment. Only too frequently
they accept infirmities and deterioration in their physical condition as the normal
result of ageing, whereas some of these conditions - such as failing eyesight, deafness
or nutritional defects - can be alleviated or cured. Again, isolation enhanced by physical
defects tends to go hand in hand with mental deterioration. Regular visiting is therefore
necessarv if the elderlv are to be maintained in the community as long as possible.
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