London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Merton and Morden 1946
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton & Morden]
This page requires JavaScript
The hospital is a voluntary organisation serving Wimbledon, Merton and Morden. The following information relating to the ante-natal and post-natal clinics of the hospital has been kindly supplied by the Secretary, indicating the number of attendances during the year:—
| Ante-Natal. | Post-Natal. | |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of attendances from all districts during the year | 1,959 | 268 |
| Total number of women who attended during the year:— | ||
| (a) From Merton and Mor-den | 154 | 109 |
| (b) From all districts | 375 | 234 |
Health Visiting'. 200 births used to be regarded as the
guide as to the maximum size of the area which one health
visitor could cover, so that it will be appreciated that an
increase of 234 births must have repercussions on the work of
the health visitors.
In addition to this there has been a steady increase in the
ante-natal work not only by virtue of the increase in the number
of births but because of the requests for reports on home conditions
to help Hospital Almoners to decide priorities of institutional
need.
As I have already mentioned the health visitors have not
been able to keep up with the expansion in the volume of work.
While the births have increased by 234, the follow up visits
have only gone up by 157, and while there were 55 more visits
to expectant mothers than in the previous year, there were in
fact 234 more expectant mothers, which is, of course, further
proof of the same fact.
The report therefore provides statistical evidence of knowledge
already in the possession of the Committee and on which
they have already acted by making provision for an additional
health visitor next year.
The number of visits made for the various purposes was as shown below:—
| To expectant mothers—first visits | 553 | |
| total visits | 810 | |
| To children under 1 year—first visits | 1,341 | |
| total visits | 4,130 | |
| To children—1-5 years—total visits | 4,059 | |
| Visits re puerperal pyrexia, ophthalmia neonatorum and miscellaneous | 401 | |
| Visits to foster children re Child Life Protection | 138 | |
| 9,538 | ||