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Attendance has been good throughout the period — a very
high proportion of appointments being taken up.
Many of the usual orthopaedic and visual defects common
to young children were diagnosed and most cases referred to
the appropriate consultant. We are fortunate at Mayesbrook
Clinic because both Ophthalmic and Orthopaedic Specialists
attend there and referrals do not necessitate long journeys or
much waiting for the families.
A great deal of the most valuable work of a Toddlers Clinic
consists of the support of the mother faced with behaviour in
her child which she cannot understand or accept. Simple explanation
and discussion with the mother can be of enormous
help and often leads to a richer parent-child relationship and
relaxation of tension.
The health visiting staff who run the clinic have always
been able to give me the fullest information about the children
and their backgrounds and I am sure it is largely due to their
enthusiasm that this clinic has got off to a good start .
The provision of dental services to expectant and nursing
mothers and to children under the age of 5 is reported on by
Mr. E. V. Haigh, Principal Dental Officer:-
Dental
Treatment
"Full dental treatment was given to all patients willing to
attend one of the four surgeries in the Redbridge area where
treatment for expectant and nursing mothers and children
under five years old was carried out.
Two surgeries at Kenwood were for mothers and children
living in the northern part of the Borough and two surgeries at
Mayesbrook for those in the south.
The first significant fact observed from the statistics for
1965 is that the number of expectant and nursing mothers treated
fell by approximately 10% from 1964 figures. This continual
drop in the demand by these mothers has been observed over
the past ten years in most areas, especially in the south of
England. This is due to the fact that there is a high usage of
the general dental service and also that most mothers are more
dentally health conscious. They are under private practitioners
supervision prior to the ante-natal or post-natal care and so do not
wish to attend the clinic dental surgeon whom she may attend
only for twelve months after the confinement. Continuity of
treatment is I am sure very important and the fact that they
may only attend for a limited period stops many mothers from
attending at all.