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V.—MATERNITY AND CHILD
WELFARE.
During the course of the year the Maternity and Child Welfare
Scheme has been in operation without serious modification,
although there have been various changes to some of which I wish
to draw attention.
The work of the Health Visitors has been increased during the
last year or two by the addition of the visiting of tuberculosis
patients and of children suffering from measles and whooping
cough. They have also been required to pay many visits in
connection with the scheme for the following up of children who
have been notified as suffering from infectious disease. On
account of this additional work and in order to avoid the necessity
of employing a locum tenens Health Visitor during the annual
holiday period, the Council appointed in April one additional
Health Visitor.
A number of special foods such as Virol, Cod Liver Oil and
Malt, Oil Emulsion and Roboleine are purchased by the Council
and sold to the mothers at cost-price at the infant welfare centres.
Even at cost-price some of the products are too expensive for the
poorer mothers who refrain from purchasing foods which have
been prescribed by the doctor. Halibut Liver Oil for example is
very expensive for Bermondsey mothers and the tendency has
been either to ignore the doctor's instructions or to purchase a
cheap and usually inferior oil with a vitamin value correspondingly
low. I suggested to the Committee that these products
should be regarded as foods, and that they should be supplied
to mothers and children under exactly the same scheme as that
under which milk is supplied and using the same income scale.
The Committee has not yet, however, arrived at a decision on this
matter.
In May, Circular 1622 of the Ministry of Health, was under
discussion, and the following report was submitted to the Committee:—
"This Circular of the Ministry of Health relates to Maternal