Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Redbridge]
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The Home Help Service — constantly back up the family after
a home confinement and add their contribution toward providing
an efficient domiciliary maternity service.
SECTION 24
HEALTH VISITING
Staff At the end of the year there were 35 Health Visitors
(including 9 Part-time) and 11 (including 2 Part-time) State
Registered Nurses employed in the Borough, in addition to the
Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent Health Visitors.
The table in Appendix 12 shows the number and type of visits
made.
Central Registry of Casework The Central Registry of Casework now contains about
5,000 names and is growing weekly. Most of the names are
contributed by the Health and Welfare Department, as would be
expected from the largest provider of casework advice.
Enquiries are not as frequent as had been expected but this
is a growing service which will take some time to prove its
worth.
Miss J. Oliver, Superintendent Health Visitor, reports:—
Liaison with Chadwell Heath Hospital Geriatric Unit
Discussion took place in March between Dr. Dunn, Consultant
Physician; Dr. Cordon, Medical Officer of Health; Mr.
Hall, Chief Welfare Officer and Miss Oliver, Superintendent
Health Visitor about the renewal of a weekly visit to the
hospital and subsequent follow-up of discharged patients, a
practice discontinued since Miss Copping's retirement.
As the Welfare Service were short of staff it was agreed
that Miss Collins should undertake this liaison for a period
of three months. It was continued for seven months, until it
was decided that a joint hospital and Local Authority appointment
(part-time) would be made, possibly early in 1967, to
cover this service.
It was felt that the period spent doing this work, although
time-consuming, was both interesting and a valuable experience.
Meeting patients with Dr. Dunn prior to discharge and
being given information both about their physical disabilities
and home conditions was helpful when later visiting them at
home.