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101
the Medical Officer of Health for uniformity of administration through
out the various areas, which are included within the Scheme, the Council's
official Health Visitors assisting the various Voluntary Health
Visitors in every way possible as required, and taking part in the work
of the centres on "consultations" days. In this connection, the
Council's official Health Visitors take over the work, or part of the
work, of visiting and re-visiting connected with any centre that may
be under-staffed or temporarily without staff (owing to want of funds,
etc.), as is at present the case at the Holy Trinity Institute, Stockwell,
and West Norwood Centres.
The Scheme depends upon the official and voluntary Health
Visitors working in absolute agreement and unity, and on the same
administrative lines, with the same uniform record cards for the
tabulation and classification of work done, and conditions and progress
(or otherwise) of infants and children, and the same official pamphlets,
forms for accounts, etc., which have been drawn up in the simplest
form. The forms for accounts are prepared by the Borough Treasurer.
There must be close and intimate co-ordination and amalgamation
with the Council's Public Health Department, but, at the same time,
there should be no undue interference with the "voluntary principle,''
which is the basis or foundation upon which each centre is at present
built—a most valuable asset, in the opinion of the Medical Officer of
Health, and one that has contributed in no small degree, in the past,
to the success of the Lambeth Scheme.
The Lambeth Milk Scheme (necessitous cases) is administered
from the various voluntary centres—an arrangement that is working
smoothly, though, naturally, throwing extra duties and responsibilities
upon the Centres Officers.
Concluding Remarks.
The routine practice that now obtains in carrying out the Lambeth
Maternity and Child Welfare Scheme is the sending to each centre a
duplicate list of all births notified to the Medical Officer of Health, a