View report page

SECTION B.
General Provision of Health Services for the Area.
METERNITY & CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.
HEALTH VISITOR SERVICE:
The year 1945 was notable for the formation of a single Health Visitor
Service for the whole Borough. This may be regarded as the most important change
in the organisation of the Health Visitors which has occurred since Maternity and
Child Welfare Services were first set up in this Borough during the 1914-1918 War.
Prior to 1945, each of the four Voluntary Welfare Centres had employed its own
staff of qualified Health Visiters in addition to those employed directly by the
Borough Council to visit those mothers and children not attending Welfare Centres.
Although there was co-operation between these five separate groups of
Health Visitors, there was, nevertheless much overlapping of work and a consequent
wastage of trained personnel. For such reasons and also because the adoption of
the Rushcliffe Scale of Salaries resulted for the first time in placing all Health
Visitors in this Borough, both voluntary and municipal, on an equal basis in respect
of salaries, the Council finally approved recommendations embodied in reports of
the Medical Officer of Health, recommending a single body of Health Visitors for
all Maternity and Child Welfare work in the Borough.
The Committees of the four Voluntary Welfare Centres agreed to the proposed
changes in the interests of the mothers and children, and at the beginning of May,
all Health Visitors including the Superintendents of the Voluntary Centres became
directly employed by the Borough Council.
From this date all Visitors, including the Council's former Visitors,
became attached to one or other of the Welfare Centres with the exception of a
Special Health Visitor for illegitimate children and the Child Protection Visitor
who had their central office at the Town Hall.
This re-organisation with the consequent work necessary to bring records,
etc,, into line one with another, meant a great deal of work both with the Welfare
Centre staff and the central office, and for the first few weeks, the actual
visiting work was in consequence unavoidably held up.
WELFARE CENTRES:
South Islington Welfare Centre-:
Another major change from the original Maternity and Child Welfare Scheme
set up during the first world War also took place during 1945. Mrs. Waley Joseph,
Honorary Joint Secretary of the South Islington Welfare Centre for so many years,
died at the beginning of the year. She had made the care of mothers and children
in South Islington a very large part of her life and her loss was deeply felt by
all.
Following her death, the Voluntary Committee of the South Centre requested
the Council to take on their work for mothers and children in this part of the
Borough so that from April 1st 1945 the South Islington Welfare Centre, which had
previously been grant-aided, became the sole responsibility of the Borough Council.
During the latter part of the year it became necessary to vacate the
Popham Road premises owing to war damage repairs being commenced. The Centre
activities were, therefore, removed to Tibberton Square where the disused First Aid
Post was converted into the main premises of the Centre.
Miss Batty, who had been Superintendent of the South Centre working for
the Voluntary Committee for many years, resigned from her appointment, and Miss
Paley, a permanent Health Visitor of the Borough Council, was appointed to the
post of Superintendent of the Centre in April 1945.
4