View report page

PERSONAL HEALTH SERVICES
Maternity and Child Welfare Centres.
Facilities for all or some of the following continued to be available at nineteen
centres: —
Ante-natal, post-natal, infant welfare, toddlers, prophylaxis, creche, health
education, and the dental care of expectant and nursing mothers and children
under five years of age.
In addition to the Council's own centres, similar facilities were provided at two
centres run by voluntary committees with grant aid from the Council. Medical
officers at the child welfare clinics were concerned largely with developmental
diagnosis and the early detection in children of handicaps both physical and mental.
(Fuller details of the work with handicapped children are given below.) Advice to
mothers on general management was given by health visitors at the welfare centres:
they also encouraged attendance at mothers' clubs and classes held in the centres.
Both the medical officer and health visitors were concerned with all problems relating
to the health and well-being of the mother and child and, when necessary, called
upon any available service which included in-patient treatment of mothers and
babies experiencing feeding difficulties and for babies with dietetic upsets.
Mothercraft training classes were conducted by health visitors. Instruction was
given in home-making, budgeting, simple cookery, make-do-and-mend, elementary
hygiene, etc.
Mothers of young children were sent to recuperative centres for residential
courses in mothercraft.
Welfare centres continued to be used as distribution points for national dried
milk, orange juice, cod liver oil and vitamin tablets, supplied under the Welfare
Foods Scheme of the Ministry of Health. In addition, on the recommendation of
a clinic doctor, mothers were able to buy certain proprietary brands of dried milk
and nutrients, and obtain certain medicaments free of charge.
The following table shows the attendances at the welfare centres during the
year 1965.
Child Welfare and Toddlers Sessions:—
First attendances in 1965 of children—
Born in 1965 4,730
Born in 1964 4,390
Born in 1960-63 3,457
Total attendances 75,761
Total sessions held 4,252
Ante and Post-natal sessions:—
First attendances 880
Total attendances 1,766
Total sessions held 167
51