[Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Chard U.D.C. / Borough.

  • Chard (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1955
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Chard U.D.C. / Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    able to report that two new climes were commenced in the newly-constructed County Council Clinic building. These were an ante-natal clinic and an orthopaedic clinic and they will be referred to later in the text. The new clinic, which is situated in the High Street, is a prefabricated building and is erected on a site made available by the Borough Council and situated im- mediately below Durstons. It contains a waiting hall and on the left hand side a self-contained dental clinic with treatment and recovery rooms and dental office, and on the right is a medical consulting room and separate nurses’ weighing room, etc. In addition a reception office and adequate lavatory accommodation is provided and there is a pram shelter at the rear. The building is well furnished and adequately heated and lighted and is a very great asset. Care of Mothers and Young Children. Infant Welfare Clinics. These clinics were held twice each month and Dr. Elliott was present on all occasions. There was an improvement in the numbers attending this clinic, no doubt due to the greatly ‘ improved surroundings in which it is now held. The correct function of a clinic of this type is to keep a child in perfect health from the date of its birth until it has reached school age and with this aim in mind the clinic functions as follows:— On the first attendance of the mother and child full details of the child’s birth are recorded, the child is then stripped and weighed and taken in to see the doctor, who thoroughly examines the babJ^ The mother is advised on any abnormality which may,i be detected, and a course of action out- lined. Subsequently, the child is stripped and weighed at each visit, and the mother is able to receive advice from one of the health visitors wdio is in attendance for that particular purpose. If either the health visitor or the nurse weighing the children is unhappy about the condition of any infant, it is immediately seen by the doctor. If treatment or hospital appoint- ments are needed these are made through' the child’s private practitioner. Immunisa- tion against diphtheria and whooping cough is offered and the value of this procedure is explained. This routine work has proved to be of great value. An abnormality is detected at the very earliest moment when the chance of correction is very much better than wdien it is an established disease. The misapprehension of some parents that the clinic is a ready method of checking the diagnosis of their own doctor, is very strongly discouraged, and no advice or treatment is suggested whilst a child is actively attending its own general prac- titioner. It is also stressed to the parent that any suggested treatment can only be commenced with the full approval of the private doctor, and in this way the Health Department endeavours to foster a strong link with the general practitioners‘ service. Whilst the clinic is in session, certain proprietary foods and vitamin preparations may be purchased at special rates. National welfare foods are still sold in the Council Offices and it might lead to less confusion if this was done from the clinic building itself as is the case in some towns. Ante-Natal Clinics. An ante-natal clinic has been started once a month and Dr. Elliott attends these sessions for the purpose of taking blood samples for submission to the laboratory. The samples are examined as a routine for Wasserman and Khan re-actions, haemoglobin estimation and the Rhesus factor. The examination of the blood or expectant mothers is now a routine pro- cedure in the town end well soiP^i'ted by the loc il d(icT(*rs. In addition to this clinic the private practitioners and nurses carry out ante-natal examinations of the patient either in their surgeries or in the patient’s own home. Domiciliary Midwifery. The district nurses continued to attend expectant and nursing mothers in their homes with the private practitioner super- vising the case. Health Visiting. The district nurses carry out general health visiting duties and Mrs. Pitt is the tuberculosis health visitor. The primary function of a health visitor is to visit the home of the people and I am quite confident that at present this work is being done in a very efficient manner. This is particularly true in respect of the following up of children with defects discovered at school medical inspections. None are overlooked, and if parents co-operate they will derive a maxi- mum benefit from this part of the Healtli Service. Home Nursing. In addition to their many other duties, the district nurses visit people’s homes to carry out a very large number of duties. These may include dressing wounds, giving injections, bathing patients, and many