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administration—welfare work.
The Annual Report of the Examining Officer was presented to the Council at the end of January.
Two cases of infectious disease (one each of diphtheria and measles) were reported last year among
the boat population, and two deaths occurred, one from bronchitis (male, aged 80,)and the other from
broncho-pneumonia (male, aged one).
Only 119 out of the 232 boats on the Register were found using the Paddington Basin. The
occupants of the boats inspected included 63 children, of whom 44 were of school age.
WELFARE WORK.
Ante-natal Clinics.—Weekly Clinics continue to be held at 232 Harrow Road (the Paddington
School for Mothers) and at St. Mary's Hospital. At the former 252 new cases attended during the year,
the total number of attendances being 577. At St. Mary's Hospital 331 women residing in Paddington
made 993 attendances, 109 being afterwards admitted to the Hospital for confinement, and 207
confined in their homes under the care of the Extern Staff of the Hospital.
Ante-natal Clinics at Queen Charlotte's and other Hospitals are also attended by women resident
in the Borough; the numbers, however, are unknown, owing to the fact that separate records for each
Borough are not kept by those institutions.
Health Visiting.—Last year 1,883 new-born infants were visited by the Council's Health
Visitors, the visits being made as soon as possible after the 10th day. It was found that 1,657 infants
were being fed naturally (i.e. from the breast), 142 artificially and that 84 were on a mixed diet. The
variations in the percentages of the methods of feeding recorded on first visits during the past four
years are shown below.
Breast
Artificial
Mixed
1919
90.5
5.8
3.6
1920
90.2
6.3
3.5
1921
83.7
8.5
7.8
1922
88.0
7.5
4.5
Of the 142 children reported as fed artificially 61 were less than one month old, and of the 84
on a mixed diet 35, or 42.9 per cent. in each case. In 1921 only 25.4 per cent. of the infants artificially
fed and 29.5 per cent. of those on a mixed diet were visited under one month from birth.
Last year there was a v.ery satisfactory reduction of the interval between the birth of a child and the
Health Visitor's first call.
Before the close of the year 52 deaths occurred among the 1,883 infants visited, equivalent to a
mortality of 28 per 1,000. Of the 52 infants dying 39 (23 per 1,000) were reported as breast fed, 10
(70 per 1,000) as artificially fed, and 3 (35 per 1,000) as on a mixed diet. The death rates per 1,000
infants visited during each of the past four years (see below) indicate a progressive decrease in mortality.

Of the 52 deaths, 25 were due to respiratory and 10 to diarrhceal diseases, 3 to congenital defects,
3 to atrophy, 2 to premature birth, and 9 to other causes. Thirty-nine (39) of the deaths occurred
in institutions, including 29 in the Paddington Hospital (Infirmary).
In May, 1922, a change was made in the arrangements for visiting. Previously, after a first visit
had been paid to a child by one of the Council's Health Visitors, all subsequent visiting, up to admission
to school, was done by the Staff of the Paddington School for Mothers. Visiting after a child has
attained the age of 18 months and up to school age is now undertaken by the Council's Staff. During
last year the Visitors attached to the School made 14,989 visits as compared with 16,831 in 1921, and
11,857 in 1920. The Council's Visitors, in addition to the first visits above recorded, made 3,437
visits to children over the age of 18 months.
Consultation Centres.—Six Centres are maintained by the School, at two of which consultations
are held twice weekly and at the remainder once.
Last year the first attendances (new cases) numbered 1,134, and the total attendances 12,840,
the latter including 2,257 attendances by children aged one year and over.
Among the children attending the Centres there were 47 deaths during the year, 23 at ages under
one year, and 24 between one and five years. There were 17 deaths from respiratory diseases and 4
from diarrhoea.
As stated in the previous Report, an unknown number of infants are taken to consultations at
Queen Charlotte's Hospital and to Centres in adjacent Boroughs.
Milk Grants: Dinners for Mothers.—The Scheme adopted by the Council in May, 1921, and
approved by the Ministry of Health continued in operation last year.