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50
Toddlers' Clinics
Special clinics for toddlers (children aged from two to four years)
are held at 12 welfare centres. The children are given routine
medical examinations and if necessary are referred for treatment.
Toddlers' sessions held during the year 261
Total attendances of toddlers 3,305
Average attendance at each session 12.7
Dental services
A dental service for expectant and nursing mothers and children
is provided in conjunction with the school dental service at
certain of the Council's dental surgeries. During the year there
were 120 attendances by mothers and 400 by children under five
years of age.
Family Planning
The Council has made arrangements for advice on methods of
contraception to be given to married women where pregnancy
would be dangerous or detrimental to health. Sessions are organized
by the Family Planning Association who are provided with
rent-free accommodation at some of the Council's welfare centres.
No charge is made except for appliances supplied to the patient.
During the year 300 such sessions were held. Towards the end of
the year the Family Planning Association introduced an experimental
scheme to provide a domiciliary service for mothers who
needed contraceptive advice but were unwilling or unable to visit
a clinic and it seems probable that it will prove a valuable addition
to the service provided in Wandsworth.
Co-operation with the Family Planning Association is effective at
all levels and the harmonious relationships between the staffs of
the Association and the Council ensure that any local difficulties
are easily overcome.
Health Visiting Service
Home visiting is the basic essential of the health visitors duties.
Nearly every mother is visited about fourteen days after the birth
of her baby. Further visiting is discretional and depends on the
needs of the mothers a very large number of whom attend clinics
run either by general practitioners or by ourselves. Children who
are on the " Handicap and Observation Register" are followed
up as often as necessary. Every effort is made to encourage parents
to have their children fully immunized and a phenylketonuria test
is carried out for nearly every child.
Frequent visiting and continuing support is needed for a certain
number of families, and immigrant families may need special help
in settling into a new environment. The supervision of childminders
is becoming an increasingly important part of a health