London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Coulsdon and Purley 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Coulsdon]
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Maternity Clinics.
Combined ante-natal and post-natal clinics are held as follows:—
(a) 69, Brighton Road, Purley, each Monday and on the first and
third Tuesdays in each month from 2-4 p.m.
(b) Methodist Church, Sylverdale Road, Purley, on the first and
third Wednesdays in each month from 2-4 p.m.
(c) Baptist Church, Addington Road, Selsdon, on the second and
fourth Wednesdays in each month from 10 a.m.-noon and 2-4
p.m.
A system of appointments for seeing the Medical Officers is in use
and, thanks to the assistance of members of the British Red Cross
Society, has worked very successfully to the benefit of the mothers
attending.
The following attendances were made in 1947: —
| Centre. | New Cases. | Number of Attendances. | Sessions. | Average per session. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antenatal. | Postnatal. | T otal. | Antenatal. | Postnatal. | Total. | |||
| 69, Brighton Road, Purley | 257 | 2 | 259 | 1,581 | 144 | 1,725 | 76 | 22.7 |
| Sylverdale Road, Kenley | 83 | 3 | 86 | 504 | 56 | 560 | 22 | 25.5 |
| Selsdon | 94 | — | 94 | 585 | 39 | 624 | 22 | 28.4 |
| Totals | 434 | 5 | 439 | 2,670 | 239 | 2,909 | 120 | 24.2 |
(Two Doctors attended all sessions at Sylverdale Road and the sessions
held at 69, Brighton Road, on Mondays.)
The following table compares the 1947 figures with those of 1945 and 1946: —
| 1945. | 1946. | 1947. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New ante-natal cases | 391 | 576 | 434 |
| Percentage of registered births | 52% | 54% | 41% |
| Post-natal attendances | 210 | 242 | 239 |
| Number of sessions | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Average attending per session | 22 | 20.1 | 24.2 |
While the total number of ante-natal cases decreased, the attendances
at the Selsdon Ante-Natal Clinics remained high; hence extra sessions
had to be arranged. This is offset by only one doctor attending the
majority of the sessions at 69, Brighton Road, Purley, latterly.
The proportion of mothers attending for post-natal examination is
30