London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

View report page

Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London

Kensington 1926

The annual report on the health of the Borough for the year1926

This page requires JavaScript

Text

Copy text to clipboard

71
These institutions are mainly supported by (1) voluntary contributions, (2) grants from the
Ministry of Health, and (3) grants from the Borough Council. The medical and nursing staffs
are engaged by the Voluntary Committees. A Woman Health Officer is attached to each Welfare
Centre and, except at Campden Hill, has an office on the premises where she keeps her records
and in which she arranges home visiting work in consultation with the staff and the Voluntary
Committee.
The principal duties of a Welfare Centre are those of an educational institution—providing
advice and teaching for the mothers in the care and management of little children with a view to
maintaining them in good health.

Table: The work done at the Infant Welfare Centres during the year 1926 is shown in the following table :—

The work done at the Infant Welfare Centres during the year 1926 is shown in the following table :—

Particulars of Work done.Archer Street.Bramley Road with Kenley Street Branch.Camp-den Hill.Earl's Court.Gol-borne.Lancaster Road.Rav-mede.Totals.
1—No. of births occurring in the area of the Centre suitable for Welfare attention1065931352813413162402032
2—No. of sessions at which doctor attended for infant consultations94200961019713498820
3—No. of sessions at which doctor attended for special ante-natal consultations24251113–2124118
4—Total number of individual mothers who attended during the year363666672124927022382740
5—Number of individual mothers who attended ante-natal sessions during the year49692777404255359
6—Total number of individual children who attended during the year ... (Old)156363921943034144621984
.. " (New)219402901603482961931698
7—Total attendances at Centra of mothers for all purposes. (Excluding the accompanying of children and for the purpose of buying dried milk or other article)712177573074421643812255712494
8—Total attendances at Centre of children for all purposes348266571936332057708259703136455
9—Total attendances at dinners (Included in Nos. 7 and 8 above)—
]. Mothers____9302019_2949
2. Children–____2195_2195
10—Total attendances at doctors' consultations—
1. Ante-natal mothers14416778171792711591069
2. Post-natal mothers17136792194291762711642
3 Children259549081899285927934037307322194
11- -Average attendances at doctors' consultations—
1. Ante-natal mothers67713–16—
2. Post-natal mothers22_24133_
3. Children27252028233031_
12—Number of individual children weighed during the year3757641821946516806553501
13—Total weighings293163801916319348566326622531827
14—Number of first visits paid by salaried workers
1. Expectant mothers189434108883112439
2. Children151613912———182
15—Total number of home visits paid by salaried workers to—
1. Expectant mothers931616522216120228905
2. Children17251306863173641151401217313319
16—Number of home visits paid to children by vnlnntarv workers —
1. First visits––––_––_
2. Total visits–182–––––182

Text

Copy text to clipboard

Une interesting observation on the above table is the number of children seen at each doctor's
consultation. It is generally recognised that a doctor cannot satisfactorily deal with more than
26 to 30 children at one session and it will be seen in item No. 11 that the average numbers dealt
with varied from 20 to 31.