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
Finsbury 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Finsbury Borough]
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39
Number of Visits.
As a routine, babies up to 1 year of age are visited once
a month, and children from 1 to 5 years once a quarter, an additional
Health Visitor being appointed last year to enable this to be
carried out.
Formerly the Health Visitors did not attend the Municipal
Centres; in 1934 it was decided that one Health Visitor should
be in attendance at every session. It was thought that attendance
would be encouraged by this means, as a mother will often make
an effort to attend a centre, if she knows she will see her
Health Visitor there.
The number of visits paid by the Health Visitors to babies and children under 5 years last year, was as follows —
| District | First Births. | Total Births. | Total Visits to Children under 1 year. | Total Visits to Children aged 1-5 years. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 | 46 | 141 | 1,955 | 1,976 |
| No. 2 | 44 | 156 | 1,657 | 2,183 |
| No. 3 | 41 | 157 | 2,028 | 1,724 |
| No. 4 | 42 | 180 | 2,169 | 2,393 |
| No. 5 | 33 | 134 | 2,039 | 2,526 |
| Totals | 206 | 768 | 9,848 | 10,802 |
In 1937 the total number of Finsbury births notified was 842.
In addition to the above numbers, 2,866 visits were paid to
children under 5 years of age by officers of the Voluntary
Associations in the Borough.
The visits paid in the past five years by the Council's Health Visitors are tabulated below:—
| Year. | No. of District Health Visitors. | Visits to Children under 1 year. | Visits to Children aged 1-5 years. | Total Visits. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 4 | 8,691 | 10,630 | 19,321 |
| 1933 | 4 | 10,634 | 6,863 | 17,497 |
| 1934 | 4 | 10,847 | 5,603 | 16,450 |
| 1935 | 4 | 10,200 | 6,728 | 16,928 |
| 1936 | 5* | 11,039 | 8,452 | 19,491 |
| 1937 | 5 | 9,848 | 10,802 | 20,650 |
*Increase of staff from Oct. 19, 1936.
Much of the time of the Health Visitors is spent in making
ineffectual visits, due in many cases to the mothers absence from
home; in 1937, 2,345 visits were fruitless for this and other reasons.