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who was undertaking such nursing and maintenance of foster children and to appoint
one or more child protection visitors, or to authorise individual members of its staff
to carry out these duties. The duty of these officers was to visit from time to time
all foster children and the premises in which they were living, in order to safeguard
the health and well-being of the children and to give any necessary advice or direction
to the foster parents on the care of the children. The Local Authority had power
to fix the maximum number of children who might be kept in any premises in which
a foster child was kept and if it was satisfied that a foster child was being kept by
unsuitable people, or in an unsuitable environment, there was the power to apply to
a court of summary jurisdiction for an order directing the removal of the child to a
place of safety.
Under the Children Act, 1948, which came into operation on 5th July, 1948,
the child life protection provisions of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, were
extended to apply to foster children while under compulsory school leaving age and
in certain circumstances up to eighteen. Under the Children Act the Council became
responsible for child life protection work and although this subject stands referred
to the Children's Committee, and will eventually be dealt with by the Children's
Officer, the supervision of foster children has been delegated, for the present, to the
health department. The visiting of foster children and the premises in which they
are living have continued to be undertaken by health visitors, designated as child
protection visitors, who were transferred to the Council from the metropolitan
borough councils. The number of foster children being supervised under child life
protection powers at the end of 1947 was 767. Towards the end of this year the
number was approximately 700. It is not possible to give an accurate figure, owing
to the difficulty in the short time available since the operation of the Act in ensuring
that persons caring for foster children for reward between the ages of nine years and
compulsory school-leaving age were made aware of the extension of the age range
of children requiring to be registered.
HOME NURSING
Up to 4th July, the arrangement was continued by which district medical officers
referred patients to be nursed at home by nurses employed by the district nursing
associations, grants being paid by the Council to the Central Council for District
Nursing in London for distribution, on a visit basis, to the associations concerned.
A majority of the metropolitan borough councils had similar arrangements for the
home nursing of patients suffering from certain illnesses.
From the " appointed day " the Council arranged with the Central Council for
District Nursing in London and the voluntary nursing associations in the county for
the provision of home nursing services on its behalf on a grant basis. From 5th July
to the end of the year 453,222 visits had been made.
Arrangements were also made with the district nursing associations and the
British Red Cross Society for the loan of equipment to patients being nursed at home.
DOMESTIC HELP SERVICE
Prior to the "Appointed Day," all the metropolitan boroughs(with the exception
of the City of London) had a scheme for the provision of domestic assistance (home
helps) where a mother was unable to carry out her normal duties because of her
confinement, and in all but one of the boroughs, there was also a scheme for the
provision of similar help for sick or infirm persons. After the "Appointed Day,"
the demand for the service of home helps increased considerably, and the service
was expanded as far as possible to meet this demand. At the end of 1947, the metropolitan
boroughs employed 826 home helps (243 whole-time, and 583 part-time)
who attended 7,389 cases during that year. By the autumn of 1948, the number of
helps had risen to over 1,600, and by the end of the year 1,932 (439 whole-time and
Loan of
equipment