[Report 1965] / Medical Officer of Health, Hertfordshire County Council.

  • Hertfordshire (England). County Council. n 50062101.
Date:
1965
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1965] / Medical Officer of Health, Hertfordshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    109/110 (page 105)
    there were persons willing and able to accept such very unattractive employ- ment in the locality. Junior 2'raining Centre.—At the end of the year preparations were in progiress for the expansion therein of the Special Care Unit when the senior children had moved to the senior training centre opening at Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, in early January, 1966. The limiting factor in such service must be recruitment of suitable staff, of which a considerably higher ratio to children will be required for the severely handicapped ; many of such will also require special ambulance transport. Chiropody.—The provision of chiropody treatment to applicants who are either in receipt of National Assistance or in similar financial circumstances continued both through private chiropodists, practising under the County Council scheme, and by the increasing employment of chiropodists on a sessional basis in the Hitchin and Stevenage Health Centres. An average of three sessions per week have been held at the Hitchin Health Centre and two sessions per week at the Stevenage Health Centre. Overall demands are just being met and, unless there is an increase in the chiropodists practising in the area, it is likely that in the very near future the treatment of patients will need to be extended beyond the usual six weeks period in order to provide some chiropody treatment for all, rather than establish a waiting list. At the end of the year approximately 1,150 persons were receiving treat- ment, of whom 73 per cent obtained such through private chiropodists practising under the scheme and 27 per cent at sessions held on welfare premises. Of the persons being treated outside County Council sessions roughly 60 per cent attend chiropodist surgeries and roughly 40 per cent were treated as domiciliary cases. According to the information available, it seems that approximately 38 per cent of the persons receiving treatment are on National Assistance, whereas roughly 62 per cent are receiving treatment after submitting an application on financial grounds. This latter percentage would appear higher than one would expect and it must be visualized that many persons in straightened financial circum- stances are not applying to the National Assistance for supplementary allow- ances. Medical Stajfing.—For a long period this divisional establishment had been understrength from lack of recruitment but in September the return of a medical officer to half-time service and the recruitment of a full-time medical officer has permitted completion of school medical inspection schedules. Also it has now been possible to extend welfare centres to new housing neighbourhoods in Stevenage and Letchworth and to increase frequency of welfare sessions to meet the needs of areas with recent markedly expanded population.