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130
Hospital Board, the lists of children referred for tonsillectomy were reduced to
manageable proportions. Assistant medical officers have been glad to avail themselves
of paediatric seminars at the Whittington Hospital to refresh their clinical
knowledge.
Division 4, comprising the boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington.
Dr. S. King reports:—
Day
nurseries
The priority waiting list for day nursery places which stood at the beginning
of the year at 600 to 700 was reduced to about one-fifth of this figure by the end
of the year. This fall was brought about largely by a careful check of the financial
circumstances of all applicants, which resulted in the exclusion of a number who
were found to fall outside the priority limits, and to the lapse of an even greater
number of applications. At the same time, the scheme for the voluntary registration
of child-minders which had been introduced in the division during the previous year
was considerably developed and the number of registered child-minders increased
during the year from 32 to 69.
One additional private day nursery was registered under the Nurseries and
Child-Minders Regulation Act, 1948, and one nursery previously registered was
closed. At the end of the year, there were 6 nurseries providing 192 places registered
under the Act. The number of statutorily registered child-minders at the end of the
year was 3, approved for the care of 15 children.
Recuperative
holidays .
The demand for recuperative holidays has continued to increase, and the
number of holidays provided during the year reached a total of over 1,200 compared
with nearly 1,000 in the previous year. Of those sent away, approximately
60 per cent, were children.
Domestic
help
The number of applications for home help received during the year was approximately
1,800 and, with the carry-over from 1949, service was provided to over
1,500 households each week.
Maternity
and child
welfare
Following the closure of 186, Upper Clapton Road as a day nursery staff hostel,
the premises were, after suitable alterations, brought into use as a maternity and
child welfare centre in place of 2-4, Warwick Grove, which was an unsatisfactory
building and was scheduled for demolition on its release by the Council.
Special toddlers' sessions at which children receive a thorough medical examination
at about their 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th birthdays, were commenced at three
Hackney welfare centres, bringing the total weekly sessions of this type in the
division to 6. Approximately one-third of the children attending these sessions
were found to require treatment.
As a measure of economy, the holding of separate sessions for vaccination and
diphtheria immunisation was discontinued, and combined sessions were substituted
throughout the division.
In addition to their talks with individual mothers who attend welfare centres
medical officers and health visitors have been encouraged to give group talks of
5-10 minutes' duration during infant welfare sessions on specific topics including
"Food," "The basis of good health," "Common infectious diseases," and "Protection
against diphtheria." Shortage of health visitors has, however, limited the
development of this important activity.
Postural exercises for day nursery children and school children, and ante-natal
exercises for expectant mothers, were given by a qualified physiotherapist.
The special scheme for the supervision and care of premature infants which
was introduced in the division in September, 1949, was continued with satisfactory
results. In addition to attendances at the special weekly clinics at which babies
are seen by a doctor, an average of 4.9 visits was made to the home of each premature
infant within the scheme.