11
Sankari ... ...
Namakkal ...
...
5. None are quali-
fied.
4.
Do.
The work of one old vaccinator is efficient
and the work of remaining 4 new vaccinators
not very efficient.
The work of one old vaccinator is efficient
and the work of the remaining vaccinators
are not efficient.
First and second class vaccinators are very rarely obtainable. The staff
employed must not only be able to carry out vaccination but should also be able to
explain in a convincing manner the benefits of vaccination to the villagers each
time they visit villages.
(d) The insertion success rate attained.—The percentage of success for
each board is noted below—
Hosur ...
...
... ... ... ... ... ...
Dharmapuri ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Salem ...
...
...
...
...
...
... ...
Sankari ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Namakkal ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
75.2
64.3
75.0
23.4
75.3
(e) Conditions of vaccinators' equipment.—The District Medical and
Sanitary Officer is of opinion that the full equipment is not maintained by
vaccinators though the boards would say that they have been providing every-
thing that was wanted. This will be examined by the boards themselves in detail.
It is reported that vaccinators do not carry bags with them. The sterilization
of lancets and cleaning of arms of children before operating seem to be lacking at
present and if this is true, the people are amply justified in not coming forward
enthusiastically to be vaccinated.
(f) Committees formed and the work done by them.—Some boards
have just decided to form vigilance committees and some are contemplating to
do so (vide item (b) supra). Progress in this direction can be expected
if the Health Officer proves himself to be a man with some personality.
(g) Steps taken to extend re-vaccination.—No special steps have been
taken and the people in general have not been brought to realize its importance.
Improvement in this direction can be expected only when the local committees
show their activities and exercise some supervision over the reputed careless and
dirty habits of some of the vaccinators.
(h) Arrangements made for educating public opinion.—Vide item (f) supra.
This will require time and very poor results will be forthcoming at first.
General.—(1) Registration of Vital Statistics has to be made compulsory
and subject to statutory penalty for neglect and local board members authorized
to check the registry.
(2) Every complaint or suggestion of a vigilance committee should form the
subject of the proceedings by the local Deputy Collector, copy of which should be
furnished to the Taluk Boards for information at its meetings.
(3) Facilities for enabling local bodies to know their birth and death rates
should be provided. Copies of registers may be furnished by the Collector or
local Deputy Collector monthly to these bodies.
(4) The vaccinating staff should bring their difficulties to the notice of the
local vigilance committee or failing help there to the President, Taluk Board.
(5) Arrangements to be made for providing members of local boards with
an easy styled and uptodate pamphlets on important public health topics to guide
them in giving popular lectures in villages.
(6) At present, the cause of poor results in vaccination work lies chiefly with
the village officers and the vaccinators and local bodies are not yet in a position
to put matters in a better basis."
I agree with most of the above remarks and hope that now that each district
is equipped with a District Health Staff with a District Health Officer at its head,
many of the defects pointed out will disappear.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
A. J. H. RUSSELL, M.A., M.D., D.P.H., Major, I.M.S.,
Director of Public Health, Madras.