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21
Health Visitors.
There are eight whole - time Health Visitors engaged in
Maternity and Child Welfare work, to each of whom a particular
part of the Borough is allotted for home visiting.
Under the Notification of Births Acts, early information is
received in the Health Department of births which have taken place,
and when the doctor or midwife has ceased to attend, a call is made
by the Health Visitor, who thus has an early opportunity of advising
the mother in regard to the feeding, clothing and general
management of the infant. Every encouragement is given the mother
to attend an Infant Welfare Centre. Three or four visits are paid
during the first year of the infant's life, and afterwards, at longer
intervals, until the child reaches the age of five years.
The Health Visitors' duties also comprise visits to expectant
mothers, enquiries into cases of puerperal fever and ophthalmia
neonatorum, infant deaths, and applications under the milk assistance
scheme.
Each Health Visitor attends the Voluntary Infant Welfare Centre
in her district, and takes her turn in attending the Municipal Clinics.
The work carried out by these officers during the year is
summarised below : —
Infants under 1 year of age :—
First visits 2,637
Subsequent visits 7,861
Infants between 1 and 5 years of age :—
Total visits 10,505
Expectant mothers :—
First visits 858
Subsequent visits 342
Infant death enquiries 82
Still-birth enquiries 90
Visits to Puerperal Fever cases 14
Visits to Ophthalmia Neonatorum cases 22
Visits to Measles cases 214
Visits to other Infectious cases 319
Miscellaneous visits 930
Ineffectual calls 3,416
Attendances at Centres :—
Municipal 608
Voluntary 648