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
Battersea 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea Borough]
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52
At the end of 1936 there were 105 Battersea foster-mothers
known to the Council, 57 of whom had nurse children in their
care to the number of 96. During 1937, 19 new foster-mothers
gave notice of their intention to receive children ; and 4 were
reported to the Committee as having given up the practice of
receiving nurse children.
After making adjustments for deaths, removals from the
Borough, and those cases where no children had been taken for
over two years, there remained at the end of the year 114 fostermothers,
of whom 54 had nurse children in their care to the number
of 94. The ages of the 94 children were as under :—
Under 1 year 11
1 to 5 years 41
Over 5 and under 9 years 42
Of the children under 5 years of age 24 were attending the
infant welfare centres at the end of the year.
The whole number of nurse children who were under observation
during 1937 was 186.
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, and 8 cases of infectious disease occurred.
No legal proceedings were instituted during the year under
report, but in 14 cases foster mothers were cautioned for the undermentioned
offences:—
Failure to give prescribed notice of—
| Reception of nurse child | 9 |
| Removal of nurse child | 4 |
| Removal of foster mother and child into Borough | 1 |
In one case the Committee authorised the taking of action
to secure the removal of a foster child from the care of an
unsatisfactory foster-mother, but in this case the object was
secured without recourse to legal action.
The protection of child life is, of course, one of the main objects
of the Council's child welfare scheme, and apart from the special
activities recorded above, the Health Visitors do much useful work
for the well-being of children. In those cases (fortunately rare) of
active cruelty or culpable neglect the National Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children is informed, and I am happy to
acknowledge the invaluable help they have given in such cases.