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36
THE WORK OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE MATERNITY
AND CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE.
This Committee was formally constituted by the Council in 1920, and is composed of two
representatives appointed by each of the seven Infant Welfare Centres with two appointed by the
Telford Road Baby Clinic.
Lady Davison was appointed Chairman in November, 1922, and it was a matter of great regret
to the Committee that she felt compelled to retire in November, 1923, owing to her expected
absence from Town during the Winter. Lady Davison was succeeded in the Chair by Lady
Maurice, and Miss G. B. Wood has been appointed Vice-Chairman.
The primary object of the Advisory Committee was to secure the co-ordination of the work of
the various Welfare Centres and Baby Clinic and co-operation between these voluntary
organisations and the Borough Council.
There is no doubt that the formation of the Advisory Committee was the first sound step
towards real co-operative progress, and the existence of this body has been fully justified by the
successful manner in which difficult problems have been solved, and by the enthusiastic way in which
the various institutions work under its guidance.
During the year under review much valuable work has been accomplished. An arrangement
was made with the Queen Charlotte's Hospital Authority for the Hospital to give the Medical
Officer of Health a weekly list of the names and addresses of all expectant women who engage the
services of the Hospital midwives for home confinement. This list enables the Welfare Sisters or
the Council's Women Health Officers to visit the homes to ascertain if any domestic or hvgienic
precautions can be taken in advance with a view to securing greater safety in delivery. The
importance of this arrangement can be readily understood when it is mentioned that the Queen
Charlotte's Hospital midwives attend about 750 confinements in the Borough each year, and that
owing to pressure of work, they generally do not have the opportunity of visiting the home until
labour has commenced.
Much consideration has been given to the question of providing accommodation for the
confinement of women whose home conditions are not suitable for this purpose, and the
Committee have placed before the Council's Maternity and Child Welfare Committee a draft
scheme for utilising a ward in the St. Mary Abbot's Hospital. It is proposed that the Council
should maintain beds in one of the existing wards of the Hospital, and that cases should be
admitted to the Institution upon the recommendation of the Medical Officer of Health, without
the necessity of application being made to the Relieving Officer. The beds would he available for
married women of all classes whose applications are approved by the Maternity and Child Welfare
Committee, who would assess payments to be made by the mothers. The draft scheme has met
with the approval of the Maternity and Child Welfare Committee and the Board of Guardians, but
final details have to be arranged before it can be submitted to the Borough Council and the
Ministry of Health.
In the latter part of the year, the Advisory Committee were requested by the Committee of
the Kensington Dispensary and Children's Hospital, Church Street, to consider how the needs of
North Kensington in respect of hospital accommodation for children could best be met by the
Hospital.
Owing to the great and practical interest shown in the matter by Her Royal Highness
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, President of the Hospital, and Alderman A. J. Allen, M.A., J.P.,
Mayor of the Royal Borough, it has been possible to make considerable progress. A Hospital
Re-Establishment Committee has been set up for the purpose of collecting funds and transferring
the work of the Hospital from Church Street to a more suitable position in North Kensington.
Her Royal Highness, Princess Louise, has graciously consented to be President of the
Hospital Re-Establishment Committee, His Worship the Major has accepted the position of
Chairman of the Committee, Sir Alfred Rice-Oxley has been appointed the Vice-Chairman,
Lord Balfour of Burleigh has been appointed Hon. Treasurer, and Miss Davenport the Hon.
Secretary. In addition, a large number of well-known and influential ladies and gentlemen have
consented to serve on the Committee.
There is no doubt that, owing to the changes in the residential character of the immediate
neighbourhood of the present Hospital in Church Street, which has resulted in a steady decline in
the number of attendances, the Hospital will better serve the purpose of the Borough as a whole
if removed to North Kensington. If the labours of the Re-Establishment Committee meet with
success and it is found possible to erect a Children's Hospital in North Kensington, a very
great step forward will have been taken in reducing sickness and increasing the health and
happiness of the poor children in that district.
The work of the Advisory Committee in co-ordinating the efforts of the numerous voluntary
organisations connected with Child Welfare work is growing more and more important, and it
is difficult to conceive how the voluntary work in Kensington could continue on sound lines
without it.
Apart from the very successful co-ordination of voluntary effort, many recommendations on
questions concerning Child Welfare have been forwarded to the Maternity and Child Welfare Committee,
and also a large amount of routine work in connection with the organisation of Infant
Welfare Centres has been carried out during the year.