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26
Home Visiting. —This has been done by the health visitors at the Town Hall and by the
Council's staff of health visitors at the Centres, who visit the mothers attending the Centres, and
also such notified births as are referred to them by the Medical Officer of Health.
The Town Hall health visitors, six in number, give approximately half of their time
to this work. These ladies in 1925 made 1200 visits to 131 infants (apart from visits made
to cases of measles and for other special purposes). They also made 2-54 visits to 113
expectant mothers.
The last mentioned activity (" in " in the above list) was initiated during the year,
and was rendered possible by the co-operation of the Medical Superintendents, who agreed
to supply a weekly list of children discharged from their respective institutions.
The work is proving valuable, as advice and assistance during convalesence are not
only frequently necessary, but in many cases help to prevent a relapse or recurrence of the
illness for which the child was originally admitted to hospital.
The Council's visitors at the Infant Welfare Centres, 20 in number, are full-time
workers, who divide their time between the necessary work at the Centres and visiting the
homes of the mothers and children. In addition there was one full-time trained worker, not
paid by the Council, at the Caversham Road Centre, and one part-time trained voluntary
(unpaid) worker at the Chalton Street and Grafton Road Centres. There were also two
trained visitors at the University College Hospital Centre, who worked in neighbouring
boroughs as well as in St. Pancras, and whose salaries were paid by the hospital authorities, and
not by the Council.
During 1925 the Council's staff at the various Centres made 42,427 visits to 3,476
children, and 4,388 to 1711 expectant mothers; the trained workers not paid by the Council
made 11,920 visits to 935 children, and 337 visits to 183 expectant mothers.