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51
March, 1945.—Council approved the transfer of the South Islington Welfare
Centre to the Council consequent upon the death of Honorary Secretary, Mrs. Waley
Joseph.
Premature Infant Care.
(a) Care of premature infants. Recording of weight, and therefore indication of
prematurity, on the Notification of Birth cards approved.
(b) Purchase of special equipment approved for nursing of premature infants at
home.
(c) Consulting paediatrician appointed and special arrangements for admission
of selected cases to Mothercraft Training Society Institution, Highgate Hill.
March, 1946.—Health Visitor establishment increased from 28 to 32.
April, 1946.—Report considered from East Islington Welfare Centre desiring to
relinquish their work and asking for Centre activities to be taken over by Borough
Council. (This was done from September, 1946.)
Ministry of Health war-time Day Nursery scheme and Daily Guardian scheme
terminated and responsibility in respect of former returned to Borough Council.
Daily Guardian Scheme. Payment to guardians increased by Council from
4s. to 6s. per week.
May, 1946.—First-aid Post, Tibberton Square opened as temporary Welfare
Centre.
January, 1947.—Union Chapel, Compton Terrace opened as Branch Clinic for
South Centre.
Child Mortality and Sickness.
Summer diarrhoea, which was formerly the greatest single danger to infants
under 12 months, is now practically unknown in the form in which it occurred,
although enteritis is still a dangerous disease to the newly born in particular. The
widespread epidemics of summer diarrhoea, however, are fortunately no longer with us.
Measles, whooping cough, bronchitis and pneumonia are the most dangerous
illnesses to young children, the two former in particular, because they are apt to give
rise to the complications of bronchitis and pneumonia from which a child may die.
Even without special immunisation for these diseases, the standard of infant care
and the condition of the infants has much improved, so that those falling victims to
these two infectious diseases have a very much better chance of recovery. However,
both are distressing diseases still—whooping cough in particular. Fair progress,
however, is being made with whooping cough inoculation and within the next few
years should do much to diminish the risk. A certain amount of temporary
protection can be given against measles, lasting for a matter of 2-3 weeks only and
sometimes not protecting altogether, but allowing the child to have the disease
in a very much milder form. This is sometimes done in the case of young children
in whom it is particularly desirable to prevent or modify an attack.
Diphtheria is almost entirely preventable now and the public response over the
last few years to diphtheria immunisation has been so remarkable that at least
50 per cent. of the children under 5 years are now protected. All this has been done
voluntarily by the parents and is testimony to the reasonable attitude that parents
now take on health matters. Diphtheria in Islington is now almost a rare disease.
There were only 20 cases in 1947, of whom only three were under 5, and there has been
only one death in the last two years which was in an unimmunised child of 16 years
of age.
Infant Mortality.
During the last few years, each year has given a new record low figure and this
improvement, dramatic within the last ten years, is still going on. The rate of 32
for 1947 has again created a new record in infant survival which is better than the
average rate for London as a whole.