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Of the cases dealt with, therefore, 40 per cent, were primiparae (against 44 per cent,
in 1946), and of these 73 per cent, (against 72 per cent, in 1946) were confined in hospital,
while 55 per cent, (which was the same percentage as in 1946) of the multiparae were also
confined in hospital.
Table XI in Appendix gives the chief abnormalities found during the year.
Child Welfare Clinics.
The attendances at the Child Welfare Clinics during 1947 are shown in Table XII
in Appendix.
The total number of attendances at the Infant Welfare and Toddlers' Clinics during
1947 was 15,453, as compared with 13,897 for 1946.
It will be noted that the attendance at the Infants' and Toddlers' Clinics during 1947
increased by 1,472. Approximately 80 per cent, of all infants born in Southall in 1947 were
brought for consultation at least once.
Children attending Day Nurseries are medically examined at least once every month
at the nursery and so were not required to attend clinics.
The large figure of attendance shown here means that many infant sessions at the
Manor House were extremely overcrowded, the numbers rising to as many as 110 in one
afternoon session. It is impossible in these circumstances for all healthy children to be
seen as frequently as would be desirable and the need for further infant welfare sessions
becomes more and more urgent each year. With the numbers as heavy as these there is
also bound to be a good deal of waiting to be done by the mothers attending, and it is to
their credit that, in spite of these difficulties, the attendances for advice and treatment
continue to be so good.
Pre-School Medical Inspection (Toddlers' Clinics).
Toddlers' Clinics are held fortnightly at each centre. The total attendances at these
clinics were 642, 369 at the Manor House, and 273 at the Branch Centre. (See Appendix,
Tables XIV, XV, XVI, XVII and XVIII.)
The general physical condition of children under five years of age in Southall was, on the
whole, satisfactory. No infants were found to be in the classification D (bad), and nine only
in classification C (slightly sub-normal). The defects found were mostly of a minor
character and the total number of children found to be suffering from minor defects was
much lower than in 1946. There were fewer children found during 1947 with defective
tonsils and adenoids. The number of toddlers found to have some degree of dental decay
was not reduced but formed a reasonably low percentage of the total number of children
inspected.
Children found at these Toddlers' Clinics with bone defects or adenoids were referred
for treatment to the Remedial Exercises Clinic, and, in many cases, excellent results were
obtained. The difficulty reported in 1946 of obtaining treatment for children requiring
removal of tonsils increased during 1947, and it is quite usual in cases which are not considered
to be emergencies to have to wait from 2 to 2½ years for operation. Efforts were made to
improve the situation by referring cases for treatment to both the Hillingdon County
Hospital and the King Edward Hospital, Ealing.
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