London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Finsbury 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Finsbury Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
42
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 | Total Births. | Total Visits to Children under 1 year. | Total Visits to Children aged-1-5 years. |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 | 178 | 1,763 | 2,005 |
| No. 2 | 158 | 1,659 | 2,245 |
| No. 3 | 143 | 1,811 | 1,791 |
| No. 4 | 161 | 1,838 | 1,652 |
| No. 5 | 116 | 1,772 | 2,050 |
| Totals | 756 | 8,843 | 9,743 |
In 1938 the total number of Finsbury births notified was 702.
In addition to the above numbers, 2,473 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 Childrenaged 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 |
| 1938 | 5 | 8,843 | 9,743 | 18,586 |
* 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 1938, 2,457 visits were fruitless for this and other reasons.