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1929] 20
Clephane Cottage was open from the 18th March to the 8th November, 1929,
during which time 68 mothers and 73 children stayed there. Internal improvements
have been carried out at the cottage, new gutters have been put round the
roof, and the house is now in a thorough state of repair. The enlarged kitchen
premises have greatly improved the domestic facilities. The total cost of £215
had to be met from the Centre funds.
East Centre.—At this Centre the garden was further utilised on two afternoons
a week by mothers who were invited to sew or rest there whilst their
children played. This change for the mothers from the environment of their
homes was much appreciated. The greater amount of sunshine during the year
had a beneficial effect on the health of the children generally, and the mothers in
these particular cases were able to share it.
The cookery and dressmaking classes were very much taken advantage of by
the mothers.
The value of the work carried out on "Test Feeding" at this Centre has
justified its continuance. Apart from the cases discovered where the babies are
being underfed, the testing sometimes shows cases in which a baby may be losing
weight owing to overfeeding. This latter sort of case would be difficult to convince
a mother on if it were not for the actual demonstration at the test proving
the fact to her.
West Centre.—The work of this Centre, which is in one of the most congested
and poorest districts of the Borough, has continued to attract the necessitous
mothers in the neighbourhood. The Branch Centre at Goodinge Road, where a
clinic is held, has been very fully and consistently taken advantage of. At the
main Centre in Richmond Road " Artificial Sunlight " has been provided, as
formerly, for the weakly and rickety babies, and has also been given in a case of
chronic ulceration which had resisted other methods.
The fine weather of the summer reflected itself in the marked improvement of
the babies attending the Centre.
In January and February an outbreak of diarrhoea had to be contended with,
and a number of children succumbed. This was followed by an epidemic of
Measles which affected for the time the attendances at the Centre.
Ward.—The Ward at this Centre shows a lower number of admissions than
usual, due to the fact that there was some shortage of staff at certain periods.
The higher death-rate among those attending was due to the extremely serious
condition of many of those admitted, but the Centre can point to the rescued babies
who would have died but for the treatment they received in the Ward.