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 1922

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]

This page requires JavaScript

Table: DAY NURSERIES. The following table shows a record of children's attendances at the five Day Nurseries in the Borough in the year 1922.

DAY NURSERIES. The following table shows a record of children's attendances at the five Day Nurseries in the Borough in the year 1922.

Golborne.Kensal Creche (Medical Mission)Lancaster Road.Notting Hill Day NurserySt. Clement's, Tread-gold St.Totals
1.Whole day attendances of children under 3 years of age4376178932868510274920710
2.Whole day attendances of children over 3 years of age1491325716277910786389
3.Total whole day attendances58672114400211289382727099
4.Charges made for each attendance of a child10d.9d.9d.8d.1/-—
5.Half-day attendances of children under 3 years of age—387496—4081291
6.Half-day attendances of children over 3 years of age—157296—184637
7.Total half-day attendances_544792—5921928
8.Charges made for each attendance of a child—5d.6d.—8d.—
9.Average daily attendance of children2612215118—

Text

Copy text to clipboard

In the Annual Report for 1920 attention was drawn to this branch of Maternity and Child
Welfare work, and the opinion was expressed that the future of Day Nurseries required very careful
consideration.
It is quite true that these institutions are of great value to those mothers who, through force
of circumstances, are compelled to go out to work for the support of their families; but there is no
doubt that at times Day Nurseries are used for the care of children whose mothers can afford to
stay at home but avail themselves of the opportunity of working in factory or shop. It is
important, therefore, that particular stress should be laid on the necessity for care in the selection
of infants for admission in order to prevent the unnecessary expenditure of public money on
children whose mothers go out to work for preference and not out of necessity.

Table: HOMES FOR DESERTED, WIDOWED OR UNMARRIED MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN. A record of work done at the institutions in the Borough in 1922 is shown in the following Table:—

HOMES FOR DESERTED, WIDOWED OR UNMARRIED MOTHERS AND THEIR CHILDREN. A record of work done at the institutions in the Borough in 1922 is shown in the following Table:—

124, Elgin Crescent2, Upper Phillimore PlaceTotals
1. No. of expectant or nursing mothers in residence at commencement of year9514
2. No. admitted during the year82735
3. No. remaining in residence at the end of the year7411
4. Average duration of stay before confinement (in days)—30-50—
5. Average duration of stay after confinement (in days)17880-120—
6. No. of infants and children under 5 years of age in residence at beginning of year9413
7. No. admitted during the year82129
8. No. remaining in residence at end of year7—7
9. Average duration of stay (in days)17890-130—

Text

Copy text to clipboard

The figures for the Home at No. 124, Elgin Crescent are a record of the work carried out in
the first eleven months of the year. At the expiration of that period the Home was closed and the
mothers in residence were transferred to the Home at No. 466, Uxbridge Road, W. 12. This
address is actually in the Borough of Hammersmith, but the Home is in every other sense a
Kensington Institution, controlled by a Kensington Committee, and gives preference to Kensington
mothers.
MOTHERCRAFT TRAINING SOCIETY (29-31, Trebovir road).
This institution receives patients from all parts of the country and does not provide for
Kensington cases any more than for those from other districts; therefore, although situated in the
Royal Borough, it cannot be regarded as a Kensington institution in the same sense as the other
units dealt with in this report.
Besides giving treatment to children and advice to mothers, particularly in regard to dietetic
errors, the institution is a teaching centre for practical training in Child Welfare. The courses of
instruction are intended for general hospital nurses, maternity nurses and welfare workers.