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72
At present the Centres are ten in number: two of these have
medical consultations twice weekly. The complete scheme for the
working of a Centre requires that for every professional meeting
there should be another meeting at which the mothers attending
may be instructed in the general rearing of children and in the
co-related work usually designated as " Mothercraft," e.g., sewing,
knitting, etc. This latter portion of the work has not been at all
fully developed in Croydon heretofore, and it is partly with the
view of attaining this development that I advise the Committee to
provide premises for the different Centres, which shall be used
only for town medical purposes. At present, all the Centres, with
the exception of that at 228, London Road, meet in Public Halls
or similar buildings, which are rented for the afternoon or afternoons
of the meetings. There are many other occasions upon
which it is necessary or desirable to obtain admission to the records
find materials kept in these premises, and, as things are now, it
is a matter of extreme difficulty to obtain such admission. It is a
matter of extreme difficulty in practically all of the Centres to get
as extensive use of the premises in which the Centres meet as is
necessary for the proper conduct of the work. In several of the
Centres also the premises are extremely unsuited for the work now
that the attendances and concomitant activities have grown to such
an extent. The attendances at the Centres are now all running
from forty to seventy in the Session—in a word, the work has
become so large and requires such constant supervision that the
time has certainly come, in my opinion, for establishing these
Centres in premises which are under our own control. To
economise as far as possible I advise that the ten Centres should
meet in seven sets of premises. For this purpose, the following
Centres should be grouped in pairs so that each pair may meet in
the same building, viz.:—
(1) South Norwood Centre and Woodside Centre.
(2) St. Alban's Centre and Grange Hall Centre.
(3) Old Town Centre and South Croydon Centre.
The present sites of the Centres are shown in red on the map
accompanying this report, and the proposed sites are shown in
green.
The Committee will also recollect that reference was made to
the Creches now existing in Croydon. These are two in number
—one at Wilford Road and the other at Pitlake. A third did exist
in South Croydon, but has been given up for want of funds. The
premises in which the Creches are carried out are unsuitable, and
exception has been taken to them by the Government medical
inspectors. These Creches provide for a definite need in the
districts in which they exist, and I think the Committee ought to