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25
Infant Welfare Centres.
There are ten Infant Welfare Centres in the Borough staffed
by temporary part-time Medical Officers. Four of these Centres
are Municipally directed, the remainder being conducted by
Voluntary Associations supported by grants made by the Council.
Each Infant Welfare Centre serves a defined district and mothers
are encouraged to attend the Centre for the area in which they
live.
The work carried out at the Infant Welfare Centres during
the year is shown in the tables appearing on pages 36 and 37.
The number of first attendances of infants and children during
1935 was 2,608 as compared with 2,398 in 1934. The total
attendances numbered 51,938 as compared with 51,662 in 1934.
In the early part of the year the Union of Girls' Schools'
Authorities gave notice of their intention to close the Infant Welfare
Centre at 24, Mayward House at the end of the June quarter, and
to discontinue maternity and child welfare services in the area
from that date.
The Council therefore decided to continue the work in this part
of the north-west area of the Borough under Municipal auspices,
and a tenancy agreement was entered into with the London County
Council, the owners of the centre premises, such agreement operating
from the date of vacation of the premises by the Union of Girls'
Schools' Association.
The Maternity and Child Welfare Committee have also had
under consideration the question of finding a suitable site for the
erection of an Infant Welfare Centre to replace the Centre at
140, Camberwell Road, where the accommodation leaves much
to be desired. Various sites have been inspected in No. 1 Ward
for this purpose, and at the time of the preparation of this report,
this matter was still under consideration.
Treatment of Minor Ailments.
Medical and surgical treatment for minor ailments is available
at the following Infant Welfare Centres : — .
Camberwell Municipal ... Daily 9.30 to 10.30 a.m.
Cambridge House Do. do.
Ante-Natal Services.
In the early part of the year the Council entered into an arrangement
with the London County Council for a period of one year
for the use of that authority's ante-natal clinics at St. Giles' and
Dulwich Hospitals, for the medical examination, including dental
treatment, and supervision of pregnant women, who have arranged
to be confined in their own homes either by a private medical
practitioner or a practising midwife.