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CLINIC CENTRES
There are 6 clinic centres in the borough, 3 school treatment centres and 7 combined
clinic and school treatment centres. Additional clinic auxiliaries were engaged during the
year to carry out various tasks in the clinic centres, thereby affording more time to the health
visiting and nursing staffs to cope with their professional duties.
Further housing development on the western side of the Isle of Dogs necessitated additional
clinic sessions at the Island Baths sub-clinic.
Services provided at each of the Centres are given on pages 129 to 131of the Appendix.
CRECHES
Children can be placed in creches for an afternoon at many of the clinic centres by mothers
who wish to attend the mothers' club or sewing class at the centre or who have hospital
appointments. Creches also provide facilities for mothers to be relieved of their children for
2 or 3 hours during the day, and provide an opportunity for an only child to associate with other
children of the same age
No charge is made where the mother is attending a centre activity, but a charge of l/9d. per
session is made if the mother wishes to leave her child there whilst she attends to shopping
or other domestic duties.
Creches are provided at 9 clinic centres, 5 additional sessions per week being provided at
the Isle of Dogs centre. The number of creche sessions have been trebled since 1965. Attendances
numbered 6,803 during the year.
DAY NURSERIES AND PLAYGROUPS
There are four non-residential day nurseries in the borough operated by the Council,
providing places for a maximum of 210 children under 5 years of age. A day nursery was approved
as aTraining Nursery from 1st April this year, so that three of the nurseries are now classified
as training nurseries and provide practical training facilities for student nursery nurses
undertaking courses for the examination of the Nursery Nurses Examination Board.
In addition the Council has a claim on 25 places at a voluntary day nursery in respect of
which an annual grant is made to the voluntary body concerned. The Council nurseries are staffed
by 69 persons, which include matrons and nursing and domestic staff.
Children are admitted to the nurseries in the following circumstances:
First priority is given to cases where the mother is in ill-health and cannot adequately
care for the children, or during a mother's confinement; where 1 iving conditions are detrimental to
health or where it is considered desirable for the health of the child that it should be admitted
to a nursery; where mothers are required to work because they are widows, unmarried, separated
or divorced, or whose husbands are total ly disabled or inprison, provided the mother works at least
35 hours a week.
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