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One new nursing home was registered during the year for the
reception of senile or chronic cases.
One nursing home (St. Teresa's, The Downs), was granted
exemption from registration under Section 192(1) of the Public
Health Act, 1936. This nursing home, which is conducted by a
religious Community, the Sisters of St. Anne, was formerly registered
for the reception of chronic medical cases. During 1948 the premises
were converted into a maternity hospital unit with twenty-two beds.
INFESTATION BY HEAD LICE. — MINISTRY OF HEALTH
CIRCULAR NO. 2831.
The examination of the heads of children under the age of five
years has been carried out as part of the health visitors' normal
duties both at the times of their visits to the homes and also in the
Maternity and Child Welfare Clinics. The standard of cleanliness of
children under five in Wimbledon has always been high.
It has been the practice of the health visitors, who also combine
the duties of school nurses, to pay particular attention to the
homes of school children whose heads have been found to be dirty,
and where there are children under the age of five years in such
homes their condition of cleanliness is closely supervised in so far as
the co-operation of the parents can be obtained. In most cases the
health visitors are successful in obtaining the good will and assistance
of the parents.
The supervision of the hair of adolescent girls residing in a
house where children have been found with dirty heads, is a much
more difficult problem. The need for advising these adolescent girls
is constantly kept in mind by the health visitors, and where the
mother and girls were receptive every assistance has been given.