London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hackney 1918
Report on the sanitary condition of the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney for the year 1918
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2. In necessitous cases in which the Medical Officer of Health
or the Medical Officer of a Maternity or Child Welfare Centre
working in co-operation with the local authority, or any person
authorised in that behalf by either of such Medical Officers, or by
some other person appointed by the local authority for this purpose,
certifies that the provision of food or milk may be supplied free or
may be sold at less than cost price.
With respect to the establishment of the ante-natal centres,
the "All Souls' " Centre was opened on the 1st August, and that at
Brooksby Walk on the 7th August, so that these centres were
open during, practically, the last five months of the year.
The results achieved have been quite satisfactory, but the
former shows a much better attendance than the latter-named
centre.
The following table gives this and other information relating to the Centres:—
Ante-natal Welfare Centres, 1918.
| All Souls. | Brooksbys Walk. | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of time Centre opened | 17 | 12 |
| Number of expectant mothers attending | 76 | 23 |
| Number of repeated attendances at Centre | 63 | 16 |
| Total attendances | 139 | 39 |
| Number of visits to expectant mothers at their homes by the Health Visitors:— | ||
| Number of cases | 68 | 23 |
| Number of visits | 68 | 21 |
The value of the year's work in connection with these centres
however, must not be estimated solely by the number of patients
attending. The medical reports will indicate more correctly the
worth of the Centres. It must be remembered also, that the
growth in the attendance at a Maternity Centre is always slow. It