[Report 1969] / Medical Officer of Health, Nottinghamshire County Council.
- Nottinghamshire County Council
- Date:
- 1969
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1969] / Medical Officer of Health, Nottinghamshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![of ]k Centres with surgery accommodation for 6^ Doctors is certain, with the prospect of a further three Centres if preliminary talks with the Doctors concerned mature. The Mansfield Health Centre has evoked considerable interest from many sources as the largest in the country in terms of the 13 Doctors practising from it as their main surgery, and no special difficulties have been experi¬ enced in its operation, largely due no doubt to the presence of an Administrative Officer responsible equally to the Doctors and to the Local Health Authority, and also to the control exercised by both a Medical Staff Committee and a House Committee, the latter being representative of the Doctors, Local Health Authority and Executive Council. CARE OF MOTHERS AND YOUNG CHILDREN (Section 22) The number of premises used for Child Health and Ante-Natal Clinics remained at 108, but in addition to the Health Centre opened at Cotgrave changes of hired premises were made at Bingham, East Bridgford, Misterton and West Bridgford (Trent Boulevard). The tables on pages 59 - 62 show the location of these Clinics together with the frequency of sessions and the average attendances per session during 1969. Contrary to the trend in the previous two years, the attendances of ante¬ natal and post-natal patients were considerably reduced, and it was necessary to discontinue the separate ante-natal session at Eastwood. The main Clinics, attended by Dr. Forbes, Senior Medical Officer for Maternity and Child Welfare Services, continued to be well patronised but as more ante-natal care is pro¬ vided by general practitioners it may be necessary to give thought to the desirability of continuing separate ante-natal sessions at other Clinics where the numbers are steadily declining. The number of expectant mothers attending relaxation classes was the highest since this service commenced in 1956, but in order to maintain and improve this level it will be necessary for additional nursing staff to be taught the technique of giving relaxation instruction. Owing to the shortages of medical staff it was necessary to discontinue the Toddler Clinics which were held in northern areas of the County, and also to reduce the frequency of attendances by Medical Officers at a number of other Clinics. In consequence there was a significant fall in the number of children medically examined at Child Health Sessions, with a corresponding decrease in the numbers attending and the total attendances. There are no signs of any easement in the staffing situation, which is, of course, a national problem, and the shortage of medical staff is likely to continue until the question of the future of the Health Service is finally resolved. The table on page 67 shows the number of children born with congenital malformations notified during 1969 with the corresponding figures for each of the previous four years. Regrettably there was an increase from 185 to 207, giving an incident rate of 17-8 per 1000 total births as compared with 15.5 in 1968. Although the immigrant population of the County remains very limited, Health Visitors and Midwives are required occasionally to attend expectant and nursing mothers who speak little or no English. In order to assist in advising these mothers, language cards in eight languages were obtained from the British Red Cross Society and are available for distribution as required to the nursing staff. -17-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29925514_0021.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
