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51
That two additional Health Visitors and an additional woman
Grade A(i) clerk be appointed in the next financial year.
The services of Dr. O'Flynn were allocated as to five-twelfths
of her hours of duty to maternity and child welfare duties.
The first weekly session was held on 3rd November. By the
end of the year 52 patients had been examined, of whom 7 were
referred to hospital, &c., for further opinion or treatment.
Infant Life Protection.
The provisions of the Children and Young Persons Acts, 1908
and 1932, relating to infant life protection, so far as London is
concerned, have now been embodied in the Public Health (London)
Act, 1936.
Foster mothers and the children in their care were visited
throughout the year by the Health Visiting staff, who have been
appointed by the Council as Infant Life Protection visitors. The
number of visits paid by them in 1936 to foster mothers and children
was 1,050.
At the end of 1935 there were 58 Battersea foster mothers
on the register, having in their care 100 nurse children. During
1936 28 new foster-mothers gave notice of their intention to
receive children ; and the names of twenty-nine were removed
from the register.
At the end of the year the number of foster-mothers on the
register was 105, of whom 57 had nurse children in their care
to the number of 96.
The ages of the 96 children were as under :—
Under 1 year 9
1 to 5 years 54
Over 5 and under 9 years 33
Of the children under 5 years of age 36 were attending the
infant welfare centres at the end of the year.
The whole number of nurse children who were under observation
during 1936 was 210.
The power of fixing the maximum number of nurse children
permitted to be kept by a registered foster mother was not exercised
during the year, but two applications to remove limits previously
fixed were refused.
Two foster children died during the year after removal to
hospital.