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27
In December, 1909, an order of the Local Government
Board put in force in Bethnal Green the Notification of
Births Act, 1907. When this came into effect, the
Public Health Committee resolved to relieve Miss
Harris, our Woman Sanitary Inspector, of all duties in
connection with workshops and out-workers, and she
was directed to concentrate her efforts upon the visitation
of maternity cases reported under the Act. As
will be seen from Miss Harris' report (herewith p. 31) a
total of 3,859 births has been reported and 2,825 visits
have been paid. The time at the Inspector's disposal
has permitted her to visit only about half the number
reported and to re-visit a much smaller proportion.
Assistance in re-visiting was offered by the members
of the Bethnal Green Health Society. Unfortunately,
these ladies are quite untrained in Sanitary work, and
as the funds at the disposal of the Society are only
sufficient for their own needs, they are unable to offer
help in necessitous cases. The matter was discussed at
several meetings of the Public Health Committee, but
the opinion formed by the members was that such
assistance as could be given by the Health Society was
of very limited utility, and the offer was declined.
I must confess that I am not particularly in favour
of amateur inspection, moreover, I feel sure that what is
really required in this connection is not so much
visitation and advice as something very much more
substantial. Some of the accounts of grinding poverty
discovered by Miss Harris are very painful reading, but
the funds at our disposal, provided by a few charitable
friends, are utterly inadequate for the relief of any but