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Town Hall,
Kensington, W.8.
11th July, 1942.
To the Mayor, Alderman and Councillors of the
Royal Borough of Kensington,
I have the honour to submit my annual report on the state
of the public health in Kensington in 1941. The report is
considerably abbreviated, but detailed records are available
for inspection.
From the public health point of view the year was a satisfactory
one. The incidence of infectious disease was low compared
with pre-war years. The death rate from the principal infectious
diseases is the lowest recorded for Kensington and the
general death rate shows a slight decrease compared with the
previous year's figure.
Infant welfare sessions were held at two welfare centres
and at four first aid posts. The personnel at the posts assisted
in this work, and also helped in giving 8,832 free baths to school
children in the attached gas cleansing stations.
The issue of clothing coupons to expectant mothers and fruit
juices and cod liver oil to children was a new feature of the
maternity and child welfare service during the year.
During the year the Council decided to provide war-time day
nurseries to enable women to have their children cared for whilst
they undertook full time work of rational importance. One
nursery was opened in January of the present year, and another in
the following month. Each provides accommodation for 45 children.
They are open form 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. (2 p.m. Saturdays).
First aid post nurses have volunteered to help and are being
trained to become nursery nurses.. Transport is provided to convey
the children from a convenient picking-up point to the
Ladbroke nursery in the morning and back again in the evening.
In June, 1941, the arrangements for dealing with the repair
of war damaged houses were revised with the result that the public
health department became responsible for initial and final inspections
of damaged houses and the specification of repairs, while
the Borough Engineer continued to supervise the work carried out by
the builders, This change imposed new administrative duties on the
public health department, but the new work is closely allied to
ordinary peace-time duties of the department and was smoothly
absorbed.
During the year, the administrative work in connection with
the Council's Civil Defence Casualty Services continued to impose
heavy responsibilities on the public health department. The personnel
of the first aid posts, gas cleansing stations, mobile aid
units, stretcher party depots, medical aid. posts and ancillary units,
carried on their duties satisfactorily. Medical supervision of
persons using the public air raid shelters was continued and no
outbreak of infectious disease occurred.
Particular attention was given to the possible detrimental
effect on children from sleeping night after night in public
shelters, and one of the Council's medical officers visited these
shelters to examine children therein at regular intervals. In
addition, those children attending infant welfare centres were
examined with a view to ensuring that they were not being adversely
affected by having to sleep in shelters. Nearly three
thousand children were examined, and it was found necessary to
recommend for evacuation from London on health grounds only .
thirty-three cases. There was only one case in which legal
proceedings had to be taken to secure evacuation.