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
Fulham 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Fulham Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
31
The Health Visitors visit all cases of ophthalmia neonatorum, puerperal fever and
puerperal pyrexia, all cases of measles (which is notifiable in this Borough) in children
under the age of five years (except during epidemics when special nurses are engaged), all
ante-natal cases brought to our notice, and cases of pneumonia in children under 5 years,
and epidemic diarrhoea and give such advice as may be desirable.
The Health Visitors also visit pregnant women in the Borough who are booked to
enter maternity wards in Hospitals. The Almoners send lists of such cases and by this means
the Department gets into touch with many pregnant women who would otherwise remain
unknown.
The following table illustrates the wide scope of their work:—
| First visits to infants under one year | 1,982 |
| Total visits to infants under one year | 11,519 |
| First visits to infants between 1 and 5 years | 87 |
| Total visits do. do. | 10,774 |
| Visits to cases of Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 8 |
| do. Measles | 12 |
| do. Epidemic Diarrhœa | 1 |
| do. Pneumonia | 22 |
| do. Puerperal Fever | 5 |
| do. Puerperal Pyrexia | 17 |
| First ante-natal visits | 1,329 |
| Total ante-natal visits | 1,944 |
| Other visits | 60 |
In addition to their work in the homes, the Health Visitors systematically attend at
the various Centres during the medical sessions for the control and management of the clinics.
Certain re-arrangements of the work of the Health Visitors and of their summer holiday
locum tenens, requiring more of their time at the clinics than formerly, involved a corresponding
loss to their home visits, and the number of visits made during the past year was
somewhat less than in the previous year.
INFANT LIFE PROTECTION VISITOR.
In April, 1933, under an Order of the Minister of Health, the supervision of all fostermothers
in Fulham was transferred from the London County Council to the Borough Council.
Every foster-mother in the Borough is now required to be approved as such by the Council as
the local authority.
At the end of the year there were 99 foster-mothers with 126 children in their care.
The Infant Life Protection Visitor paid 1,858 visits to foster-mothers and inspected 2,541
children at such visits.
This work is an effort to prevent baby farming, formerly one of the scandals of the
country. Suitable candidates for approval as foster-mothers are needed in the Borough, as
we have more applications for their services than we can always meet.
The duties of the Infant Life Protection Visitor are closely associated with those of
the Health Visitors, and foster-mothers are urged to bring their charges to the Infant Welfare
Centres, that they may be under regular medical supervision.
Close co-operation is also maintained between the Infant Life Protection Visitor and
the. School Authorities, as her duties relate to children between birth and nine years of age.
The Visitor possesses the "right of entry" and may visit at night as well as by day, when
necessary.