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37
The arrangements for the medical examination and treatment at the Council's
hospitals of Civil Defence personnel ended in July, when the Rescue and Auxiliary
Ambulance Services were disbanded. The service continued to be provided
throughout the year for the National Fire Service.
Treatment
of Civil
Defence
personnel
The Council's administrative scheme for discharging its duties under the Local
Government Act, 1929, divided the responsibility for the care of healthy children in
its charge under five years of age in the following manner. The Education Committee
were charged with the responsibility for the education and maintenance of children
over three years of age; while the Hospitals and Medical Services Committee were
responsible for the institutional care of those under three years of age if separated
from their parents and the Social Welfare Committee of others under three.
Residential
accommodation
for
young
children
Before the war, children under three were accommodated in nurseries in
London (some under the direction of the Public Health Department and others
under that of the Social Welfare Department), until they were discharged to the
care of their parents or were transferred to an establishment under the direction
of the Education Committee. In war-time, all children were evacuated, as soon as
possible after admission, to nurseries in rural areas maintained by the Council, the
London nurseries being used primarily as receiving centres.
The end of the war, the winding up of the Government evacuation scheme, and
the provisions of the Education Act, 1944, combined to make considerable changes
of practice desirable. The maintenance of most of the temporary country nurseries
ceased to be essential and many were closed, alternative accommodation being found
in London nurseries, but it was necessary to retain four.
The coming into operation of the Education Act, 1944, converted the Council's
power to provide for the education and nurture of children over three years of age
into a duty to provide for children over two years of age; and the Council accordingly
thought it wise to lower the age at which children were transferred to establishments
under the control of the Education Committee from three to two years. It is to be
the future practice to admit children under two to public health or social welfare
nurseries, the accommodation of which is to be pooled, but to transfer them at the
age of two to an education establishment; for administrative reasons this is not
yet fully in force.
At the beginning of 1945, out of 808 children in the Council's care and
accommodated in residential nurseries, 705, or 87 per cent., were in country nurseries
to which they had been sent in pursuance of the Government's evacuation policy.
This figure included children of all ages up to five. The following table shows the
accommodation of the nurseries and the distribution of the children at that time:—
Total
accommodation
No of
children in
residence
Age
ranoe
In the country—25 nurseries 897 705 0-5 years
In London—4 nurseries* 166 103 0-3 „
Total 1,063 808
*1 Public Health, 3 Social Welfare.
To provide the additional nursery accommodation which was needed, owing
to the closing of country premises, public health nurseries were opened or extended
at the following establishments:—
South-Eastern Hospital, New Cross, S.E.14 ... Increase from 20 to 40 cots
(3.6.45)
Queen Mary's Hospital for Children, Carshalton New nursery—40 cots (26.8.45)
St. Margaret's Hospital, Kentish Town, N.W.5 New nursery—84 cots (4.11.45)
The Downs Hospital for Children, Sutton ... Newnursery—157 cots (16.12.45)
(partially open only on
31.12.45)
Total—321 cots