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Premises
DIVISION 9, comprising the boroughs of Wandsworth and Battersea.
Dr. J. T. R. Lewis reports :
Developments
The most significant addition to divisional premises was the Victoria Drive maternity
and child welfare and school treatment centre, provided at a cost of about 12,000,
and opened in October, 1957. It serves an area in which five post war Council and
Wandsworth Borough Council estates have been substantially completed, to bring an
estimated increase of 8,800 (93 per cent.) over the population prior to development.
Victoria Drive centre was the first to be opened on the new housing estates in the
Putney and Roehampton area in premises fashioned for the purpose.
After the opening the temporary centre at the Ackroydon Estate was closed in
November.
In July, 1957, the new Alton welfare centre came into use to serve new estates in the
vicinitv of Putnev Heath and Wimbledon common.
Maternity
and child
welfare
A scheme designed to improve liaison between the hospital and local health services
has been in operation for some years whereby, for one session a week, a medical registrar
from St. James' Hospital takes an infant welfare session in a council welfare centre while
a council mcdical officer assists in clinical work at the hospital. The arrangement has
been most successful and still continues.
A medical officer, with health visitors from the division, attends a special clinic for
backward children every week.
In furtherance of the scheme for mental health education in the maternity and child
welfare service, two separate groups of health visitors have participated in intensive
training under the guidance of a psychiatrist.
Welfare
foods
W.V.S. and other voluntary helpers, notably at Putney health centre, continued
to be responsible for 20 per cent. of the issues of national welfare foods. Clapham
W.V.S. were, however, compelled to give up this work in December, 1957, after many
years of useful service, when the lease of their premises expired.
- Diphtheria
j prophylaxis
A special scheme was introduced whereby parents of children who had not commenced
immunisation when about five months are sent a letter from Divisional Health
Office, so as to supplement the personal approach made by doctors and health visitors.
Foot clinics
The first chiropody service to be administered by this division started in January,
1957. Seven centres are used for a total of 17 weekly sessions. The service has proved of
great value, especially to old people.
Prevention
of break-up
of families
Those home helps who have received special training in housecraft have attended
some of the ' problem family' households but this particular service has not been as
successful as was at one time anticipated and hoped.
The home-making class for mothers of problem families continued at the Fairfield
infant welfare centre for some time but has now been discontinued as the results did
not justify the continuance of such a specialised class. Hence, it was decided to integrate
this instruction with an ordinary mothercraft class at the Plough Road infant welfare
centre. Students from Southlands Teachers Training College attend at the centre and
help in looking after the children while the class is in progress. This arrangement is an
advantage both to the students and the health visitors, who are thereby free to devote
all their time to the mothers and their social and housekeeping problems. But perhaps
the advance of greatest interest and probably also of importance during the year in this
field was the appointment of the equivalent of 1½ social case workers to undertake
intensive case work with problem families. A full report will be made in due course but
at this stage one can say, without being unduly optimistic, that so far the service is
proving its worth.
Occasional
creche
Attendance of children at the weekly occasional creche, Fairfield welfare centre
has varied little over the last year. One nurse is now in charge of the creche, with th(
assistance of students from Southlands College, who attend in order to gain experiena
and at the same time give practical help.
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