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 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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Day Nurseries. The following table shows a record of children's attendances at the day nurseries in 1938 :
| Gol-borne. | Lan-caster Road. | Notting Hill. | St. Cle-ment's. | Totals. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole-day attendances of children under 3 years of age | 4,811 | 1,458 | 9,101 | 2,978 | 18,348 |
| Whole-day attendances of children over 3 years of age | 2,392 | 2,851 | 3,225 | 576 | 9,044 |
| Total whole-day attendances | 7,203 | 4,309 | 12,326 | 3,554 | 27,392 |
| Charges made for each attendance of a child | 8d. | 9d. | 8d. | 1s. | — |
| Half-day attendances of children under 3 years of age | — | — | — | 466 | 466 |
| Half-day attendances of children over 3 years of age | — | — | — | 103 | 103 |
| Total half-day attendances | — | — | — | 569 | 569 |
| Charges made for each attendance of a child | — | — | — | 6d. | — |
| Average daily attendance of children | 32 | 20 | 54 | 19 | — |
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. Forty-four applications were
granted during the year, and the cost to the council was £71 18s. 11d.
Supply of Extra Nourishment for Expectant and Nursing Mothers and for Infants.
In November, 1938, the council, in their scheme for the supply of extra nourishment for expectant
and nursing mothers and infants, substituted dried milk for liquid milk.
During the year 5,438 grants of milk were made by the applications sub-committee. One
thousand three hundred and eighteen of the grants were in response to new applications, and the
remaining 4,120 were renewals of grant. Under the council's scheme, 236,048 pints of fresh milk
were granted free of charge at a cost to the council of £2,893 11s. 8d., and 11,203 packets of dried
milk were granted free of charge at a cost of £786 13s. 2d.
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. | No. of 7-pint packets sold. | Value of milk sold. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | |||
| Bramley Road | 2,003 | 9 | 136 | 12 | 11 |
| Campden Hill | 728 | 29 | 60 | 5 | 8 |
| Dalgarno | 950 | 17 | 72 | 2 | 8 |
| Golborne | 961 | 19 | 67 | 17 | 8 |
| Kenley Street | 1,150 | 1 | 77 | 19 | 2 |
| Lancaster Road | 2,991 | 20 | 206 | 16 | 4 |
| Raymede | 2,006 | 17 | 109 | 17 | 4 |
| South Kensington | 1,308 | 8 | 86 | 10 | 0 |
| Totals | 12,097 | 120 | 818 | 1 | 9 |
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-nine applications
for free dinners were granted ; 54 of these were new applications, and 75 were renewals. The total
number of dinners supplied was 5,786 and the cost was £146 8s. 6d.
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 :—
5,508 pints of milk at a cost of £75 13s. 9d.
140 packets of dried milk at a cost of £9 16s. 8d.
A scheme of co-operation between the county council and the borough council enalbles 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.