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8
unavoidable disease. At the end of the year, with the object of taking
active steps towards the education and improvement of the wives and
daughters of the poorer households where these diseases are particularly
rampant, the Council, on the initiative of the Chairman of the Public
Health Committee, decided to appoint two Women Health Visitors,
whose duties should be the same as are performed by the Health
Visitors of Birmingham, and are here set out:—
Duties of Health Visitors.
To visit from house to house in such localities as the Medical
Officer of Health shall direct.
To carry with them disinfectant powder and use it where required.
To direct the attention of those they visit to the evils of bad
smells, want of fresh air, and dirty conditions of all kinds.
To give hints to mothers on the feeding and clothing of their
children, and use their influence to induce them to send
their children regularly to school.
In cases of sickness, to assist in promoting the comfort of the
invalid by advice and personal help.
To urge, on all possible occasions, the importance of cleanliness,
thrift, and temperance.
They must note—
1. The general sanitary condition of the house.
(a) The number of rooms and of occupants.
(b) The existence of bad smells, and whether they
arise from deficient ventilation, from bad drainage
or from accumulations of filth.