London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
City of Westminster 1933
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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50
new Westminster Hospital there will be 30 maternity beds. The accommodation
at present, 12 beds, has proved definitely inadequate.
Health Visiting.—The importance of visiting children between the
ages of one and five years was emphasised by the Minister of Health in
circular 1054, issued in 1929. The figures given below in Table I show
the increasing attention which is being paid to this age group of children.
The records of these children relating both to home conditions and their
health history are now passed on to the education authority when the
children enter school.
The following table shows the number of visits paid in connection with the four centres:—
Table I.
| - | Ebury Bridge. | Bess-borough Street. | Marshall Street. | Marsham Street. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-natal— First visits | 261 | 223 | 150 | 177 | 811 |
| Other visits | 558 | 404 | 222 | 497 | 1,681 |
| Children under 1 year of age— First visits | 306 | 336 | 276 | 233 | 1,151 |
| Other visits | 1,631 | 1,520 | 1,095 | 983 | 5,229 |
| Children over 1 and under 5 years— Visits | 2,541 | 2,810 | 2,433 | 1,873 | 9,657 |
| Death enquiries, still births, &c | 43 | 31 | 19 | 16 | 109 |
| Infectious diseases | 200 | 106 | 40 | 79 | 425 |
Infant Life Protection.—The City Council under the Transfer of
Powers (London) Order, 1933, took over on the 1st April, 1933, from the
London County Council, the administration of Part I of the Children and
Young Persons Act, 1932, and at the same time appointed all the Health
Visitors for the time being in the service of the Council to be Infant Life
Protection Visitors under the Act.
The number of registered foster-parents transferred to Westminster
for supervision was 11. Since the 1st April, 1933, sixteen applications
have been received and accepted for registration. Only in one instance
has a foster mother the care of more than one child ; approved because
of the special qualifications of the foster mother and the highly satisfactory
conditions in her home. She has at present two foster children.
Two of the registered foster parents removed from Westminster
during the year, one to Kensington and the other to Edmonton. The
registrations were accordingly transferred,