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
Wandsworth 1926
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough]
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Maternity and Child Welfare. 53
Midwives and Nursing Arrangements.
The supervision of midwives is under the control of the
London County Council, but there is full co-operation between
the midwives and the Health Visitors. 43 midwives practise in
the Borough, of whom 16 reside in neighbouring Boroughs.
There are 31 private maternity homes in the Borough, nine
of them being carried on by practising midwives.
Arrangements have been made with various nursing Associations
in the Borough for their nurses to attend cases of Measles,
Whooping Cough, Influenza, Pneumonia, Ophthalmia Neonatorum
and Infantile Diarrhoea, at my request, at a fee of 1s. 3d.
per visit. 211 cases were visited during the year under these
arrangements, and 3,690 visits were made to them as shown in
Table XXIX.
TABLE XXIX.
| No. of cases. | No. of visits. | |
|---|---|---|
| Whooping Cough | 20 | 278 |
| Influenza | 16 | 229 |
| Pneumonia | 126 | 2467 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum | 22 | 396 |
| Measles | 27 | 320 |
| Total | 211 | 3690 |
The number of visits made by nurses in 1925 was 2,247, and
the increase is due to the increase in the number of cases of Pneumonia.
Maternity and Child Welfare Centres.
There are now 11 Infant Welfare Centres in the Borough.
A new Branch Centre was opened in Streatham during the year.
It has been found necessary to open a second Infant Session at
the Southfield Centre,