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Fulford Street, the oldest Centre in the Borough, has 309 mothers
on the register; one weekly session and a sewing class at which
Health talks are a regular feature, given by the Superintendent.
The Day Nursery serves a useful purpose in housing 20 babies
from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Convalescence. Children and mothers requiring change of air
during convalescence have been assisted by the I.C.A.A. and the
Association of Infant Welfare Societies. In the cases where the
parents are in receipt of Parish relief, the grant for a sick child is
stopped if the child is sent away, and widows in receipt of Parish
relief cannot receive any "sick leave," or their pay is stopped and
food only given to their dependents. This is a great hindrance to
the work of preventing continued ill-health in the cases of mothers
and young children.
Preventive work is so closely connected with the social and
economic conditions of the people that one is glad to note the
improved nutrition of nursing mothers since the increased scale
of poor law relief.
An effort has been made to co-ordinate the efforts of all Maternity
and Child Welfare workers in Bermondsey by quarterly
meetings, which are held in the large hall at 98, Rotherhithe New
Road, the idea being to promote discussion on important topics and
to hear papers from other sources. The immediate need in this
branch of Public Health Administration is to find some method
of co-operation between Municipal and Voluntary workers, by which
the trained Health Visitor can be freed for more home visiting and
talks to mothers. The difficulty has been to find voluntary workers
who will attend regularly and refrain from giving unqualified advice.
In conclusion, I wish to thank the Medical Officer of Health for
his help and encouragement in any efforts made to extend the scope
of Maternity and Child Welfare work, and to express my appreciation
of the way in which the staff of eight Health Visitors carry out their
arduous and difficult tasks."
S. CHURCHILL.
Assistant Medical Officer.