[Report 1966] / Medical Officer of Health, Doncaster County Borough.
- Doncaster (England). County Borough Council.
- Date:
- 1966
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1966] / Medical Officer of Health, Doncaster County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![Family- Planning Health Education It is considered that the Family Planning Ser-'/ice is an essential aspect of family i'/elfare» General education on family planning is a most important part of health education and should feature in courses of taiks or discussions arranged for parents' groups., mothers and cHnics, and in exhibitions and other forms of p'ablicity in general* It is a day to day function of health visitors^ midwives and social workers to advise those #10 may require this type of help where and how to get it* An adequate family planning services fuJlLy integrated with other community servicess will help relieve the burdens placed on other local authority ser^/ices. Such burdens arise from physical and mental ill health which may frequently follow lack of knowledge and advice on family planni'ng matters* All local authorities were asked during the year to make arrangements, via an agency or directly, for family- planning advice and treatment to be available for the benefit of women in v/hom pregnancy would be detrimental to their health. Consultations, advice and supplies should be available to such women in these circumstances free of charge. In keeping with current practice the types of illnesses which may be detrimental should now be far more liberally drawn than heretofore. Socially inadecuate and problem, families should also be included in the free service group. Very often the women from such groups have too many children, too quickly, and there are other general problems. Limitation of the family would result in the long term in relieving the burdens placed on other local health authori-ty services. In Doncaster the Family Planning Service is conducted by the local branch of the Family Planning Association. To he.lp further co-operation between this Association and the local authority, several steps were recommended including local authority representation on the Family Planning Association, the pro-vision of local authority accommodation free of charge to the Family Planning Association, and ].ocal authority assistance with publicity matters, I am happy to say that these measures were put into effect and continued close liaison was maintained with the Association at all levels. During the year the Health Education Branch of the British Temperance Society allied -with the Seventh Day Adventists, v/ho specialise in health education of the type connected -with campaigns to .stop smoking, he,lped to conduct an anti-smoking clinic at Chequer Road. Wot ices advertising this clinic appea,red in the local press inviting people to apply to attend the course. Seventy people registered to attend the first- night of the five day course but only 49 turned up. Even this nura.ber had dropped considerably by the end of the week. We'vertheless by that time some 30 indi-viduals were stij.l attending and professed that so far they had managed to do without a cigarette for five days. Six weeks later a re-ionion was held and it was very encouraging to learn that I6 people were still not smoking.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29163225_0015.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
