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GENERAL PROVISION OF HEALTH SERVICES IN THE AREA.
STAFF OF THE COUNCIL'S PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
A list of the total staff engaged in the public health department at the end of the year 1933
will be found in Appendix II, Table VII.
Vaccination Officer.
Under the provisions of sections 2 and 18 of the Local Government Act, 1929, the functions of
the Kensington board of guardians and vaccination officer in relation to vaccination were transferred
to the Kensington borough council on the 1st April, 1930.
The work of vaccination officers is a part of preventive medicine and, together with that of public
vaccinators, has been largely responsible for the almost complete elimination of serious smallpox
from this country. When smallpox becomes prevalent in a district, the medical officer of health
must work in close touch with the vaccination officer and public vaccinators, and indeed, if the best
results are to be obtained, these officers must act very largely under the direction of the medical
officer of health. It was unfortunate that up to 1930 vaccination officers, whose work is so largely
connected with the prevention of infectious disease, were appointed by boards of guardians, who
were not directly concerned with this class of work. This difficulty was removed by the Local
Government Act, 1929.
Mr. A. H. Hinton, the vaccination officer, resigned his office on grounds of ill health on the 8th
April, 1933, and his duties were taken over by Mr. J. H. Wilson, the chief clerk in the public health
department, and Mr. D. C. Page was appointed clerical assistant.
A record of the work of the vaccination officer will be found in Appendix II, Table VI.
Infant Life Protection Officer.
By the Transfer of Powers (London) Order, 1933, the functions of the London county council
under the Children Act, 1908, and the Children and Young Persons Act, 1932, were transferred
to the metropolitan borough councils on the 1st April, 1933.
On the date of the transfer there were in Kensington 119 registered fostermothers and 133
fosterchildren. During the period from the 1st April to the 31st December, 1933, 52 fostermothers
and 28 foster children were added to the register. Thirty.five fostermothers were removed from
the register during that period.
One of the council's health visitors was appointed to take over the duties of infant life protection
visitor, and she immediately paid visits to all the fostermothers on the register. It was surprising
to find that out of 113 fosterchildren under 5 years of age residing in the borough, only 34 attended
the infant welfare centres. The infant life protection visitor thereupon made it her duty to
interview all the fostermothers again in regard to this matter, and at the time of writing, out of 121
fosterchildren under 5 years of age on the register, 109 are in regular attendance at infant welfare
centres, and the remaining 12 are seen regularly by private practitioners.
From the 1st April to the 31st December, 1933, four deaths were reported. Enquiries were
made into each case and it is satisfactory to be able to report that there was no cause for complaint
against the fostermother in any case.
. Legal proceedings were instituted in one case only, and these were taken against a fostermother
for failing to notify the reception of a child under section 1 (7) of the Children Act, 1908, and
section 65 of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1932. A penalty of £5 was imposed.
The following is a record of the work carried out by the infant life protection visitor during
the period from the 1st April to 31st December, 1933 :—
Number of visits paid 1,326
,, .fostermothers seen 1,136
special visits paid 190
„ children removed voluntarily 43
„ „ „ compulsorily 1
„ „ „ to hospital 14
„ deaths . 4
„ cases in which there was cause for complaint 1
„ cases recommended for prosecution 1
fostermothers added to register . 52
„ „ removed from register . . 35
,, „ on register on the 1st April 119
„ „ „ „ 31st December 136