Plunket Nurse plays an important role

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 18, 24 September 1985, Page 18

Plunket Nurse plays an important role

All children born after June 1982 have been issued with the Health and Development record book which was written and edited by professionals in the field of child care for the Division of Health Promotion. The previous Minister of Health said that the handbook had been prepared after a comprehensive report on child health had recommended that more emphasis be placed on preventive approaches and developmental health checks for all children. "It is designed particularly for family doctors and child health nurses who use the 'Health and Development Record' in the course of their work," he said. Properly used, the handbook is an essential tool for parents right from day one in their child's life. The Plunket Nurse records in the book such details as weight gains, feeding advice, developmental progress and other details which she wishes to empha^ise to parents. The first important check is done by a doctor when the child is six weeks old (this is free of charge). The aim of this check is to reduce preventable infant mortality, detect congenital defects, identify those mothers and babies at high risk and mobilise extra support forthem. The Plunket Nurse plays an important role at this stage by promoting healthy mother-infant attachment

and encouraging the mother in her new role and finally to advise on infant feeding and promotion of breast feeding where appropriate. A further free check by a doctor at six months is done to detect any undiagnosed handicap and to assess developmental delay or parenting difficulty as early as possible to minimise their adverse effects. Special attention is given to visual alertness, squint and hearing, limb movements and tone and parentchild interaction. At nine months a further important check is done by the Plunket Nurse. Denver screening is done to screen language, personal,social development as well as the physical motoi skills, thus detecting any disability or developmental delay and facilitating appropriate referral and expert care for any such problems before the first birthday. Thenat 18 months another check is done by the Plunket nurse, to continue to provide developmental health care records of the chikFs progress. In the Waimarino, the three-year-old check is done by Dr Barbara Stone, the medical officeremployed by the Department of Health in Wanganui. She works with the Plunket nurse to inform parents about their child's range of normality, assists parents to get advice for any problems mentioned, detects and refers any children with

vision problems, hearing loss or speech abnormality. The final check is done after school entry at five plus years of age. The aim of this check is to detect and remedy any previously overlooked or neglected health problems, whether physical, psychological or social. This may be done by the public health nurse. It further ensures that each child has the best possible health to allow full enjoyment, participation and educational benefit from attending primary school. Throughout these years, the child regularly sees the Plunket nurse who continues to monitor health and development and to advise parents when their child is due for immunisation injections, dental clinic enrolment, pre-school arrangements and other community facilities. T o give greater protection an extra triple vaccine is now given at 6 weeks of age followed by a triple vaccine injection at 15 months, double vaccine injection for diptheria and tetanus and a third dose of polio sip at 18 months with the final polio sip at five years. For girls only, a rubella vaccine injection is done in Form One while all children at 15 years of age receive a tetanus vaccine injection. All these checks are done at no cost to the parents and there is little excuse if they neglect to give their children the benefit of expert advice and preventive care.