London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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3. To visit and give advice to parents in cases of ophthalmia, diarrhoea and other diseases
causing deaths amongst infants.
4. To visit and report upon all cases of puerperal fever.
5. To investigate applications under the Council's Scheme for the supply of milk and
meals free or below cost price.
These officers also attend at the Infant Welfare Centres in their respective areas on doctors'
consultation days in order to assist in the work and to co-ordinate their efforts with those of the
salaried and voluntary workers attached to these institutions.
The work performed by the Women Health Officers in 1923 in regard to Maternity and Child Welfare is summarised in the following table;—
| Description of Work. | No. l | No. 2 | No. 3 | Health Officers. | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 | No. 5 | No 6 | No. 7 | |||||
| Visits to Infants under the age of 21 days. (First Visits) | 12 | 360 | 383 | 314 | 289 | 364 | 403 | 2,125 |
| Re-visits to Infants under the age of 12 months | 176 | 816 | 624 | 951 | 1,227 | 605 | 773 | 5,172 |
| Visits to Children between 1 and 5 years | 341 | 852 | 938 | 937 | 1,037 | 916 | 531 | 5,552 |
| Still-birth Enquiries | 5 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 56 |
| Visits to Ophthalmia Cases | 3 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 29 |
| Return Visits to Ophthalmia Cases | 28 | 9 | 43 | 22 | 41 | 5 | 33 | 181 |
| Visits to Measles Cases | 236 | 56 | 13 | 43 | 64 | 19 | 56 | 487 |
| Visits to Whooping Cough Cases | 14 | 24 | 9 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 18 | 97 |
| Visits to Puerperal Fever Cases | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 17 |
| Infantile Death Enquiries | 13 | 43 | 38 | 22 | 16 | 27 | 39 | 198 |
| Investigations re Milk Applications | 34 | 207 | 129 | 98 | 26 | 110 | 254 | 858 |
| Ante-natal Visits | 31 | 109 | 35 | 18 | — | 79 | 123 | 395 |
| Half-days at Welfare Centres | 15 | 95 | 138 | 136 | 97 | 82 | 142 | 705 |
| Special Visits | 1,331 | 223 | 216 | 144 | 178 | 183 | 215 | 2,490 |
The visiting in connection with tuberculosis and factories and workshops is dealt with in the
sections of this Report dealing with those subjects, and a complete record of the work performed
by each Woman Health Officer during the year appears in Table VII. of the Appendix.
INFANT WELFARE CENTRES.
There are seven Voluntary Infant Welfare Centres in Kensington, and the Borough has been
mapped out into a similar number of areas with one Centre in each, an attempt having been made
to place each home in the area of that Centre most accessible to the mother.
The Centres are controlled by Voluntary Committees and two representatives from each of
the Voluntary Committees serve on the Advisory Committee to the Council's Maternity and
Child Welfare Committee (The work of the Advisory Committee is set out on Page 36).
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 a
maintaining them in good health.
The work done by the Infant Welfare Centres during the year 1923 is shown in the following
table :—