[Report 1928] / School Medical Officer of Health, Essex County Council.

  • Essex County Council
Date:
1928
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1928] / School Medical Officer of Health, Essex County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/58 page 10
    The Local Government Bill at present l)efore Parliament, when it reaches the Statute Booh, should initiate within a few years a complete re-organization of Local Health Work tliroughout the country, somewhat on the lines already in practice in Essex, and will no doubt also he of assistance in providing facilities for fuither progress within the County. It will tlien only reciuire the inauguration of a much closer connection between the inspection of young persons entering factories and the School Medical Service in order to have a continuous chain in the medical review, as tar as is now reepured by the State, of the infant child and adolescent. I Health Visitors. Health Visitors have continued combined duties in their various districts under the J’ublic Health and Education Committees. Some difficulty has been experienced during 1928 in obtaining satisfactory appli- cants to fill vacancies. This, no doubt, is in some respects due to the general low ^ stand ird of remuneration for these posts, combined with the difiiculties and arduous ^ task in efficiently carrying out the duties in a country district. Added to this is the,, higher standard of training required hy the Ministry of Health for Child Welfare posts since April, 1928. The raising of the standard of training is all to the good of the service, bu- _ must necessarily react for a few years on the number of applicants for posts. Proposal! have been considered whereby the County Council, in accordance with the regulation of the Ministry of the Health, will assist in the training of suitahle applicants fo : appointment as Health Visitors. Changes in the Health Visitor staff during the year have resulted in an mcreas of four when all posts are filled. This brings the number of Health Visitors to 4 who t!vke part in school work, the proportion of time given to this work bein equivalent to 15 whole-time school nurses. In the Dagenham area an arrangement has been made during the year whereb the Crbaii District Council's four Child Welfare Nurses shall render part-tin assistance in school work. The services rendered are equivalent to liV whole-tm school nurses and this has been found totally inadequate. A proposal is now agree upon whereby this arrangement sliall he terminated, and 3 full-time school nurses appointed. Even with this increase, it will be insufficient when two Medical Office are working in the district with treatment centres and other work ancillary medical inspection fully developed. It has been quite evident that extra Health Visitors have been needed in tl area and the proposed additions will greatly improve matters. It is. howev. i-em-etted that tlie new arrangement will tend to lead to separation of Child WelB from school medical following-up, and must tend to some extra visiting liy otlicials. 1 ! T’lie services of the Chief Health Nurse and Assistant Chief Healtli Nurse f not included in tlie figures for Health Visitors given above. Their duties are gene
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