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67
The staff employed is as follows:—
A Medical.
One whole-time Medical Officer in charge of the Municipal
Maternity Home as well as Clinics for Infants, Toddlers, Antenatal
cases and Artificial Sunlight Treatment.
One whole-time Medical Officer in charge of Ante-natal.
Infants' and Toddlers' Clinics.
One part-time Medical Officer in charge of Clinics for Mothers
and Infants.
Three Consultants for Puerperal Fever and Pyrexia cases as well
as difficult and complicated obstetric cases.
B Nursing.
Maternity Home Staff (Vide under 1).
Thirteen Health Visitors.
One Infant Life Protection Officer.
The war brought a number of changes, chief among these being the
closure of the Maternity Home at Rushey Green and the large increase
in the number of domiciliary confinements brought about by the
shortage of hospital beds. This had a profound affect upon the home
help service which had to expand very rapidly to cope with the new
demand. It may also be recalled that under Defence Regulations 68E
made in 1944 which extended the provisions made in the Public Health
(London) Act 1936 welfare authorities were enabled to supply domestic
help to the sick and infirm as well as hitherto for maternity cases.
The introduction of rationing heralded the start of the vitamin
schemes for expectant and nursing mothers, with the distribution of
National Dried Milk, orange juice and vitamin pills as notable features
of these schemes.
During the war years the reports were necessarily less detailed than
usual. There was at this time a great deal of rethinking on the organisation
of these services which manifested itself later on when the National
Health Service Act, 1946 came into operation.
Under the National Health Service Act 1946 the administration
of the Maternity and Child Welfare Services inter alia were transferred
from the Borough Council to the London County Council and the
following short account of the expansion of these services as far as
Lewisham is concerned, gleaned from the annual reports of the London
County Council.
The division consists of the combined areas of Lewisham and
Camberwell for administrative purposes.
The divisional medical officer of the London County Council reporting
in the annual report for 1948 said that there were seven voluntary
infant welfare centres in the borough and that these clinics were held in
church halls which were not ideally suitable for the purpose. Additional
accommodation was being sought.
Ante-natal clinics which the London County Council and district
nursing association midwives attend were set up in the area. Routine
blood examination (including the Rh factor) of expectant mothers was
carried out at a number of these clinics, and was being rapidly extended
to the remainder. Vaccination clinics were set up in the borough.