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 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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The following table shows a record of children's attendances at the day nurseries in 1937:
| Gol- borne. | Lancaster Road. | Notting Hill. | St. Clement's. | Totals. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole-day attendances of children under 3 years of age | 4,502 | 2,235 | 8,852 | 2,919 | 18,508 |
| Whole-day attendances of children over 3 years of age | 2,748 | 3,203 | 3,138 | 576 | 9,665 |
| Total whole-day attendances | 7,250 | 5,438 | 11,990 | 3,495 | 28,173 |
| Charges made for each attendance of a child | 8d. | 9d. | 6d. | 1s. | — |
| Half-day attendances of children under 3 years of age | - | - | - | 555 | 555 |
| Half-day attendances of children over 3 years of age | - | - | - | 109 | 109 |
| Total half-day attendances | — | — | — | 664 | 664 |
| Charges made for each attendance of a child | — | — | — | 6d. | — |
| Average daily attendance of children | 33 | 24 | 54 | 20 | — |
Day Nursery Scheme.
The council have adopted a scheme which was suggested by the advisory committee under
which children of necessitous parents may be admitted free of charge to the day nurseries in the
borough. This scheme has proved valuable in a limited class of case. Nineteen applications were
granted during the year, and the cost to the council was £19 8s. Id.
Supply of Extra Nourishment for Expectant and Nursing Mothers and for Infants.
During the year 5,580 grants of milk were made by the council's applications sub-committee.
One thousand two hundred and nineteen of the grants were in response to new applications, and the
remaining 4,361 were renewals of grant. Under the council's scheme, 272,704 pints of fresh milk
were granted free of charge at a cost to the council of £3,000 16s. 10d., and 6,763 packets of dried
milk were granted free of charge at a cost of /630 6s. 6d.
The following table gives particulars of the dried milk supplied at cost price:-
| Name of welfare centre at which the dried milk was distributed. | No. of 1-lb. packets sold. | value of milk sold. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | ||
| Bramley Road | 2,181 | 147 | 8 | 8 |
| Campden Hill | 789 | 56 | 13 | 8 |
| Dalgarno | 531 | 34 | 8 | 5 |
| Golborne | 348 | 24 | 6 | 11 |
| Kenley Street | 1,330 | 89 | 7 | 4 |
| Lancaster Road | 3,582 | 244 | 16 | 4 |
| Raymede | 1,634 | 109 | 17 | 4 |
| South Kensington | 1,144 | 86 | 10 | 0 |
| Totals | 11,539 | 793 | 8 | 8 |
There are eight dinner centres in North Kensington where dinners are supplied to expectant
and nursing mothers. The council have considered it expedient that certain of these mothers should
receive free dinners in addition to free grants of milk. One hundred and twenty-four applications
for free dinners were granted ; 30 of these were new applications, and 94 were renewals. The total
number of dinners supplied was 4,805 and the cost was £146 13s. 4d.
In 1932 the council approved of a scheme whereby extra nourishment could be granted
by the public assistance authority through the council's maternity and child welfare service to
expectant and nursing mothers in receipt of out-door relief. The grants made at the expense of
the London county council during the year were as follows :—
5,414 pints of milk at a cost of £77 3s. 6d.
117 packets of dried milk at a cost of £8 3s. 6d.
A scheme of co-operation between the county council and the borough council enables women
attending ante-natal clinics at the county council hospitals who are not in receipt of relief, but
who are in need of extra nourishment, to be assisted by grant of extra nourishment at the expense
of the borough council. Help given in this way is included in the total expenditure of the borough
council given above.
Home Helps.
One hundred and eighty-five applications were received for the provision of home helps under
the council's scheme. The assistance requested was granted in 162 cases for a period of 14 days
each, in two cases for three weeks, in one case for nine days, in five cases for one week; three applicants
cancelled their requests, and 12 applications were not granted by the sub-committee. The gross cost
of the scheme to the council was £234 14s. 6d.