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the Borough Council has been of great value. Six women have
attended for sterility, or to ascertain the cause of frequent miscarriages,
etc.
In quite a considerable minority of cases an unexpected
disease has been discovered, and this has necessitated the sending
of the patient to a hospital for operation or for further treatment.
The diseases thus discovered have been syphilis, 2 cases; gonorrhoeal
phthisis, 3; fistula, 1 ; haemorrhoids, 1 ; tape-worm, 1;
heart disease, 1 ; albuminuria, 1. In most of these cases no
doctor would have been consulted at an early stage had the
patient not attended the clinic.
The most urgent need for these women is a Dental Clinic, for
the teeth frequently are in a very bad condition.
Infant Welfare.
The infants brought are generally normal, although a surprisingly
large number suffer from small ailments, which are treated
at the clinic or elsewhere. There has been the usual proportion of
premature or abnormally small babies, weighing from 4½ to 6 lbs.
at the first attendance; a few of these are now among our finest
babies, but during the year a considerable number of them have died.
The mothers need and desire an immense amount of teaching,
I see the children and mothers in groups, and discourse a little
about each child in order to make the clinic an educational centre ;
my little can only be done owing to want of time, yet there is no
doubt that knowledge about the bringing up of children is spreading
in the district, partly through the clinic, partly through the instructions
given in the homes by the enthusiastic Health Visitors.
The Borough Council milk has been invaluable to some of the
babies, who had previously had none or an insufficient supply;
the weight increases very rapidly, and after a few weeks the child
has changed from a pale, flabby, spiritless being into a robust and
healthy little person.
(Sgd.) Elizabeth Wilks, M.D., B.Sc.