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WAR-TIME NURSERIES
A substantial addition to the work of the Department
has been made in the establishment and maintenance of the
4 nurseries which are now in operation in the borough.
During the year, the extension of the University House Nursery
required by the Ministry of Health was completed and it came
into use at the beginning of 1944. Considerable difficulty
has been experienced in obtaining adequate and suitable staff
but despite this and other adverse circumstances, the nurseries
are now in good working order and are performing a useful
function in child care and nurture.
The past year saw the publication of the County of London
Plan. This great and practical vision of the future' is bound
to influence profoundly the development of the health services
and the location of health institutions in the reconstructed
Bethnal Green of tomorrow. On some of the details, such as the
considerable preponderance of tenement buildings, some of great
height, there may be ground for criticism but taking the plan
as a whole, there can be little doubt that although it is not
primarily a health measure it will do more eventually to promote
the health of the people than many of the Acts of Parliament
which have professed that object.
It is to be hoped that high among the priorities for
reconstruction building in the borough will be the provision
of adequate Maternity and Child Welfare premises which has been
for many years an urgent need.
VYNNE BORLAND,
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.