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connection, the visitor will see whether the baby is fed and clothed
properly. (Wherever it is practicable, breast feeding will be strongly
advised.) She will note the arrangements for preparing and storing
the food, the condition of the house as to cleanliness, ventilation,
etc.; and a systematic visitation of such homes will be maintained
until the child is a year old. A handbill of advice as to the feeding
and care of infants will be left, and instances of overcrowding, stopped
drains, structural defects, etc., will be reported to the Medical Officer
of Health.
2. Visits to houses in which an infant has recently died, in
order to discover if the cause of death was preventible; and, if so, to
advise and instruct the mother.
3. Visits to houses occupied by persons suffering from
Consumption. Here the Visitor will endeavour to obtain the open
window, the frequent cleaning of the room, the collection and disinfection
of the sputum, and the carrying out of further precautions
calculated to prevent the disease from spreading to other members
of the household. A handbill of advice will be left, and occasional
visits paid to see that the precautions are being carried out
4. Visits to homes in which cases of Zymotic Diarrhoea or other
sickness (not of an infectious nature) amongst infants and young
children come to the knowledge of the Medical Officer of Health.
In these cases, suitable handbills of advice will be left, and directions
given as to the precautions which should be observed in the management
of the patients, and the protection of others.
During the year the number of visits paid by these voluntary
workers, in respect of births, infant deaths, and sufferers from consumption,
amounted to over 400.
Senile Mortality.— Of the 658 deaths 236 were of persons over
65 years of age. The proportion of deaths occurring among those of
over 65 years of age to the total deaths is, therefore, 35.9 per cent.