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
Finsbury 1912
Annual report on the public health of Finsbury for the year 1912
This page requires JavaScript
38
The weighing centre at 65, St. John Street, is supervised and
controlled by the Peel Mission of the Society of Friends.
A summary of the work done is appended :—
| Centre. | No. of Meetings. | Attendances. | Average Attendance. | No. of Children. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penton Street | 47 | 909 | 19 | 138 |
| Radnor Street | 48 | 1,053 | 21 | 141 |
| Town Hall | 46 | 1,076 | 23 | 183 |
| Totals | 141 | 3,038 | 21 | 462 |
The largest average attendance, and largest number of children
both belong to the Town Hall Centre.
The smaller attendance at the Penton Street Centre is probably
due to the fact that many of the mothers prefer to attend the
weighings held at the Dinner Centre at 26, Cumming Street, and
in this way achieve a standing for the daily purchase of cheap
dinners for a payment which barely covers the cost of the food
alone.
| Centre. | Fat, Plump. | Thin. | Wasting. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penton Street | 114 | 19 | 5 |
| Radnor Street | 93 | 27 | 21 |
| Town Hall | 130 | 35 | 18 |
| Totals | 337 | 81 | 44 |
Most of the children are brought between the ages of one and
three months. The above table shows that between these ages
17.5 per cent, of the babies were markedly thin, and in addition
a further 9.5 per cent, were already definitely wasting.