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18
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE SERVICES-
Under the council's scheme of maternity and child welfare, complete arrangements are made
for the care of expectant and nursing mothers and children up to five years of age. The scheme
includes pre-natal and post-natal clinics, infant consultation sessions, toddlers' clinics, day nurseries,
a maternity home, the provision of an obstetric consultant for difficult confinements, dental treatment
for mothers and toddlers, the provision of dentures for necessitous expectant and nursing
mothers, hospital and convalescent treatment for mothers and infants, home nursing and home
helps, arrangements for the boarding-out of children while the mother is in hospital or for their
free admission to a day nursery, facilities for the skilled nursing and treatment of cases of puerperal
sepsis, and the supply of free milk, dinners and cod liver oil preparations to necessitous cases.
Facilities exist for obtaining gynaecological and birth control advice for suitable cases-
The borough council have decided to make use of the emergency obstetrical service of the
London county council for dealing with obstetric emergencies in cases where patients cannot be
removed to hospital without undue risk. The service provides an obstetrician, midwife and appropriate
equipment ; it can be used by any doctor attending a maternity case, and can be obtained by
telephoning the London county council. The emergency unit is dispatched to the patient's home
by ambulance.
On the 1st April, 1938, the council assumed control of the Lancaster Road infant welfare centre
and day nursery at the request of the voluntary committee of the centre- It is satisfactory to
report that this committee, as in the case of all other voluntary committees connected with centres
now under municipal control, have continued their association with the centre and rendered excellent
service in assisting at the centre sessions and maintaining the social side of the work, which is of
so much value. The management of the day nursery has involved the transfer to the council's staff
of a number of domestic servants, who have received readjustments in wages as prescribed by the
scheme of the Joint Industrial Council. The transfer of the Lancaster Road centre and day nursery
was smoothly accomplished without interference with the routine work of the institution.
In December, 1938, the voluntary committee of the Bramley Road infant welfare centre asked
the council to assume control of the centre from 1st April, 1939, owing to their inability to collect
the additional income which will be required for the maintenance of the new centre when this is
built. Happily, the voluntary committee intend to continue their valuable social work at the
centre, which was among the first established in the country.
The supervision of the large number of health visitors, welfare sisters, nurses, caretakers, cleaners
and domestic staff who have been added to the council's staff during recent years by the transfer of
voluntary centres, and the need for co-ordinating the work of these institutions, rendered it necessary
in the interests of efficiency to appoint an officer for this purpose, and in May Miss K. M. Roe, one
of the council's senior women health officers, was appointed as superintendent health visitor to
carry out these supervisory duties.
Since 1919 the council have supplied extra nourishment, principally milk, free or at cost price
to necessitous expectant and nursing mothers and children under five years of age. The expenditure
on this service has increased from £374 in 1920 to £4,130 in 1937. During the year the council
subjected the scheme to careful scrutiny and finally decided to substitute dried milk for liquid milk
for a provisional period of six months- Dried milk is more easily digestible by infants and, whilst
having almost all the advantages of liquid milk, is much less likely to become contaminated in the
home, and so less likely to give rise to enteritis- The large amount of milk now distributed by the
council makes the purchase of bulk milk possible in the dried form, which will permit of an increase
in the number of grants made without a corresponding increase in expenditure.
The change from liquid milk supplied by the dairies to dried milk distributed from the welfare
centres has necessitated certain alterations in procedure and administration- The forms of application
for milk grants have been revised, and two additional junior clerks appointed to order the
stores of dried milk each week, and to undertake the duty of distributing the milk at the welfare
centres.
The erection of a new health centre on the site of the Raymede infant welfare centre and adjoining
properties was approved in principle by the council during the year- This building will centralise a
number of maternity and child welfare and other health services now accommodated as separate
units in various buildings in North Kensington.
During September, when it was seen that most of the council's staff would be required for duty
at the first-aid posts should an emergency arise, arrangements were made, with the help of the
advisory committee, for the voluntary committees of all the welfare centres to help to carry on a
skeleton maternity and child welfare service among the non-evacuated population. Happily, the
need for this did not arise, but credit is due to the voluntary helpers who made it possible during the
crisis to carry on the work at every centre under war conditions.