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40
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
Of the total expenditure of £1,711 11s. 4¼d., £278 5s. was in
respect of fees to the doctors in attendance, £254 12s. 2d. was
salaries to the nurses, £115 10s. 6d. was for rent, rates and taxes,
£742 12s. 7d. was paid for drugs, foods, and medical requisites,
and £320 11s. 1¼d. for furniture, equipment, and other expenses.
During part of the financial year, Putney Centre was held at
Sefton Hall, lent free for the purpose by the Sefton Hall Mission.
In September, 1917, the Committee rented a house in Felsham
Road, and the cost of the necessary equipment with rent, rates,
and taxes, raised the expenditure above that of the Wandsworth
Centre, which still occupies free premises at the Anchor Mission,
275, Garratt Lane.
The small outlay incurred by the Clapham Centre was due to
the short time it had been opened.
The general work of the Centres consists of:—
1. Weighing of babies and children by qualified nurse,
2. Examination of babies and children by Medical
Officer.
3. Health talks to mothers by the Health Visitors,
and other lecturers as to dietary, clothing, and the general
upbringing of children.
4. The supplying at cost price of such expensive
foods as Virol, dried milk, emulsions, Horlick's malted
milk, Allenbury foods, etc., when ordered by the Medical
Officer.
5. Systematic visiting at the homes of children
attending the Centres by the nurses.
6. Co-operation with the Sanitary Inspectors, Health
Visitors, Hospitals, and other agencies.
Attendance at the Centres. The Wandsworth Centre serves the
three Wards of Wandsworth, viz. :—Southfield, Fairfield, and
Springfield. There were 721 children on the register at the end
of 1917 ; the attendances during that year were 2,358, an average