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31
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
The total number of deaths among those visited was 138,
31 in Clapham, 14 in Putney, 35 in Streatham, 18 in Tooting, and
40 in Wandsworth. The heaviest mortality occurred at three to
four months.
The mortality among the infants visited by the Inspectors
was only 29 per 1,000 births, compared with 89 per 1,000, the rate
for the Borough for the year.
Maternity and Child Welfare Centres.
There are now six Infant Welfare Centres in the Borough,
the sixth having been opened in January, 1918, at the General
Dispensary, 42, Manor Street, Clapham, and serves the north and
south wards of Clapham. The accompanying table shows the
days and hours on which the various Centres are open.
Each Centre has a Medical Officer and a trained superintendent.
Infants and children up to five years of age are admitted. They
are weighed at every attendance, seen by the doctor when necessary,
and their progress is recorded. The superintendent visits the
houses of the children to see that the doctor's instructions are
carried out.
The Wandsworth Centre, 275, Garratt Lane, serves the three
wards, Southfields, Fairfield, and Springfield. There were 1,032
children on the register at the end of 1918 ; the new cases numbered
311 ; eight children died, 21 removed, and five were transferred
to other Centres. The number of attendances during the year
was 2,136, an average attendance of 41.7 for 50 weeks. A number
of ante-natal cases were seen by the doctor and visited by the
superintendent. A course of 10 sewing classes and six health
lectures were held on Thursdays.
At the Tooting Centre, held at Fairlight Hall, the number on
the register at the end of 1918 was 1,132 ; the new cases numbered
315 ; 19 children died, 16 removed, and 142 were transferred to