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29
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
In a review of the year 1934 we note that there have been no changes
in the medical staff of the Maternity and Child Welfare Department; Dr. Ruby
Thomson is in charge of the department and Dr. Helena Barrett is Assistant
Medical Officer. Miss Thomas was appointed as a temporary Health Visitor
on January 1st, 1934, in place of Miss Perrett, and she came on to the permanent
staff in March of that year; Miss Milburn was appointed in March, 1934,
in place of a Health Visitor who had resigned.
The department is fortunate in having a dependable staff of voluntary
workers, viz., Miss Christian Wickham, Mrs. Tait, Mrs. Bell, Mrs. Pearson,
Mrs. Pope, Mrs. Falcon, Mrs. Farndon and Mrs. Lloyd. We have also to thank
members of the Fulham Free Church Women's Guild who provide tea and
biscuits at a nominal cost, for the mothers attending the centres.
Infant Life Protection. 1934 was the first complete year since the transfer
of this function to the Borough Council, and experience has shown the soundness
of the arrangements made for the work, which were outlined in the Annual
Report for 1933. The work has continued to be carried out efficiently by Miss
Perrett and during the year she paid 1,930 visits to Foster Mothers, involving
the inspection of 2,726 children; she also paid special visits concerning 229
children, mainly on account of Measles. At the end of the year there were 104
Foster Mothers on the Register, who had 142 children in their care.
Health Visitors. We have a highly trained and experienced staff of
Health Visitors, who are all fully trained nurses and have the certificate of the
C.M.B. in addition to possessing the Health Visitors' certificate. Some possess
extra qualifications; two have had a complete fever training, three have
obtained the certificate of the Queen's Institute of District Nursing, two have
taken a course of actino-therapy and another has a specialised knowledge of
massage.
Each Health Visitor supervises an area of about one-seventh of the
borough; she visits each birth notified as soon as the doctor or midwife has
ceased to attend and gives advice on the general management of the child;
she also visits all cases of Ophthalmia Neonatorum, Puerperal Fever and
Puerperal Pyrexia and gives any advice that may be needed by the family.
Another portion of the Health Visitors' duty is to visit all those cases
of measles occurring in children under the age of five years. It may be
pointed out that Measles is a notifiable disease in the borough. Visits are
also paid to all ante-natal cases and to cases of Lobar Pneumonia and Epidemic
Diarrhoea.
Apart from these duties the Health Visitors also attend the various
ante-natal and infant welfare clinics in the borough and give advice to the
mothers attending the clinics.