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34
Travelling Expenses of Women Breast-feeding Infants Admitted to Hospitals.
Five applications were received for payment by the borough council of travelling expenses to
and from hospital of women who were breast-feeding infants admitted as in-patients to hospitals
for treatment. These were granted, and the total payments amounted to £3 14s. 6d.
Boarding-out Children.
The council have a scheme under which the children of women staying at home or going to
institutions for their confinements can be boarded-out with foster-mothers for a period of about
fourteen days. The council are the authority carrying out the work of infant life protection, and the
infant life protection visitor is a member of the staff of the public health department. This officer
visits the homes of all foster-mothers in the borough to see that the conditions, etc., are satisfactory,
and it is thus possible for the council to obtain good homes for children required to be boarded-out.
During the year, 14 children were boarded-out at a cost of £27 17s. 6d.
The Advisory Committee to the Borough Maternity and Child Welfare Committee.
The advisory committee was established in 1920. The committees of the infant welfare institutions
each nominate yearly two of their members to serve on this body, which co-ordinates the
work of the eight infant welfare centres, the four day nurseries, and the baby clinic and hospital.
Many matters of importance occupied the attention of this committee in 1935, amongst which
were the following :—
(a) the appointment of whole-time medical officers to conduct the infant consultation
sessions at the infant welfare centres ;
(b)re-allocation of the districts of certain infant welfare centres ;
(c) scheme for the provision of dentures by the borough council to necessitous expectant
and nursing mothers ;
(d) domiciliary midwifery service for South Kensington.
The committee have continued to be of great assistance to the council's maternity and child
welfare committee, and it is largely owing to the efforts of this body that such smooth running,
efficiency and uniformity are obtained in the work of the various voluntary associations engaged
in the Kensington maternity and child welfare scheme.
HOUSING.
During the year the council's sanitary inspectors inspected under the Public Health (London)
Act, 1891, and the Housing Acts, 6,292 houses, and the total number of inspections made was 34,705.
Public Health (London) Act, 1891.
The number of written intimation notices served in respect of defects or nuisances in dwellings
was 1,775. In the vast majority of cases the work required was carried out without further action
on the part of the council, but it was necessary to issue 389 statutory notices and 79 final notices,
and 21 summonses were eventually served. The following list shows the major improvements
secured :—
Houses cleansed 1,073
House drains reconstructed 100
„ „ additions to 105
Defective drains repaired 128
House drains cleansed 160
Water closets reconstructed or repaired 418
„ „ (new) provided 362
„ „ supplied with water 293
Soilpipes ventilated, repaired, etc.152
,, (new) provided 150
Ventilating pipes (new) provided 116
Baths (new) provided 601
Sinks (new) provided 617
Lavatory basins (new) provided 1,824
Waste pipes (new) provided 472
Cisterns cleansed, covered, etc. 53
Taps fixed on rising main 81
Yards and areas, paved, drained, repaired 257
Dustbins provided 295
Ashpits abolished 4
Accumulations of filth, etc., removed 203
Roofs repaired 427
Houses provided with water above basement floor 79
Dampness in dwellings remedied 392
Ventilated food cupboards provided 179
Artificial lighting of staircases provided 4