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1916] 22
The staff has paid 1,473 home visits during the year; 324 were notification
of births visits, 410 were first visits.
235 Mothers have brought their babies to the Superintendent for dressings,
advice, or test feeds.
On each Consultation afternoon one of the staff gives a few minutes'
health talk on some simple principle of hygiene, and longer lectures and
demonstrations are given during the sewing classes.
The dispensary of simple drugs ordered by the doctor has proved an
effective means of combating the tendency of the mothers to dose their children
with a mixture of patent medicines.
A distinct improvement has been made in the clothing of the children by
means of the sewing classes and of the model garments exhibited at the
Centre.
44 Children were sent to hospitals for minor operations
20 ditto ditto medical treatment
WEST ISLINGTON INFANT WELFARE CENTRE,
44, Richmond Road, Islington, N.
Interim Report.
The West Islington Infant Welfare Centre, of which H.R.H. the Princess
Beatrice is President, was opened in May, 1916, to provide medical advice and
simple treatment for mothers and children in the western part of the Borough
of Islington. This district was defined in consultation with the Committees
of the North and South Islington Centres, which were already at work.
A house was taken at 44, Richmond Road, Caledonian Road, and, in
addition to the Medical Officer, a dispenser, resident Superintendent, and
resident housekeeper were appointed.
The object of the Centre is mainly preventative; the patients cannot afford
to consult a private practitioner for minor ailments, yet these, if neglected,
may entail far-reaching effects.
The patients include—(1) expectant mothers, (2) nursing mothers, (3)
infants under one year old, (4) children between one and five years old.
Under present conditions, nearly all belong to the families of men on
active service, and many have suffered a serious diminution of income owing
to the war. This circumstance, together with high prices, has very adversely
affected the health of both mothers and children, and immediate steps are
needed to prevent permanent physical deterioration.
After a series of preliminary visits had been paid by the Superintendent,
the first weekly consultation was held on July 4, 1916. By the end of September
the number of patients was so large that it became impracticable to
deal with them at one consultation a week, and a second was instituted.