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48 Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
Duties at the Welfare Centres.—One of the Health
Visitors is present at each Welfare Centre or Ante-natal Clinic,
and some of them attend the Welfare Centre Committee
meetings.
As a result of a visit made to Wandsworth by one of
the Medical Officers of the Ministry of Health early in the
year, the Minister pointed out that the present division of the
home visiting as between the Health Visitors and Superintendents
of the Centres, was not ideal, and that the work
of the two groups of Officers was not sufficiently co-ordinated.
The Minister asked the Council to consider in conjunction
with the Voluntary Committees whether, as new appointments
occurred, arrangements could be made for the Superintendents
to be paid wholly or partly by the Council, and to carry out
the full duties of a Health Visitor for their own areas. The
matter was investigated very fully by the Borough Council,
the General Council of Infant Welfare Centres and by the
Committees of the Infant Welfare Centres. It was decided
to accept the suggestion of the Minister of Health, and the
Council agreed to appoint Health Visitors to act as Superintendents
of the Infant Welfare Centres as vacancies occurred
among the Superintendents.
This new arrangement has been put into force in the
districts of the Springfield and Fairfield Infant Welfare Centres
where vacancies for Superintendents occurred during the year.
Miss Woods, the present Health Visitor for Springfield and
Tooting district was appointed Superintendent of the Springfield
Infant Welfare Centre, and Miss Watling, the Health Visitor for
Southfield and Fairfield districts, was appointed Superintendent
of the Fairfield Infant Welfare Centre. A new Health Visitor
was appointed in October in order to assist in carrying out the
visiting duties in this part of the Borough consequent upon
this re-arrangement.
Table XXVI. summarises the work of the Health Visitors
during the year in the six divisions of the Borough.