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In September a meeting was held between all workers concerned in the Borough,
including hospital consultants, medical social workers, Police, N.S.P.C. C.,
Inner London Local Medical Committee, Divisional Education Welfare Service,
together with representatives of the local authority departments. A scheme was
agreed for bringing to the notice of the statutory authorities cases of definite
or suspected injury to children. Details of the referral procedure have been
circulated to staff of the department and general practitioners, together with
the arrangements for collating all relevant information about the families and
informing other departments. The Health Department' s own system for recording
information of battered or suspected battered children was also overhauled and
arrangements made for regular review by health visiting and medical staff.
Observation and Handicap Register:
The Kalamazoo punch card system has been continued and regularly reviewed
in order to keep this a live record. Certain slight alterations and additions
were made to the observation categories.
With several new full-time and part-time doctors it was felt that a lecture
on developmental paediatrics was again due. Doctor Dorothy Egan, a consultant
in child health, was invited and gave an excellent lecture/demonstration at the
John Scott Health Centre.
Three speakers, aPrincipal Medical Officer and two Senior Nursing Officers,
were also asked to speak to Home Helps in November. The different aspects of
child development were discussed.
Assessment Centre:
Informal discussions were held during the year with consultant staff at
Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children, Hackney Road, about plans for an Assessment
Centre/Day Hospital. It is hoped that the Centre will develop as an integral
part of the health services in the borough with Health Department staff
participating.
Congenital Abnormalities:
The notifications to the Registrar General of congenital abnormalities
detectable at birth continued during 1970.
This year only 66 abnormalities were detected among 55 babies and details
are set out below.
Anencephaly 1 Polydactyly and Syndactyly 14
Hydrocephalus 4 Talipes 17
Spina bifida 5 Defects of hip and limbs 4
Microcephalus 1 Defects of muscles (including umbilical hernia) 1
Defects of ear 1
Cleft lip and palate 2 Mongolism 2
Defects of alimentary system 2 Other specific sydromes 2
66
Defects of urogenital system 7
Reduction deformities 3
Joint Adoption Panel
A Joint Adoption Panel is held at eight-weekly intervals for discussion
and decision about prospective adopters. It is attended by Child Care Officers
and a Principal Medical Officer. The medical application forms are initially
scrutinised by the latter and additional medical information obtained, when
relevant.