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REPORTS BY THE DIVISIONAL MEDICAL OFFICERS
DIVISION I, comprising the boroughs of Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith
and Kensington.
Dr. B. E. A. Sharpe reports:
Mental health
education
Two case conference groups were started during the year. The groups met fortnightly,
one under the leadership of Dr. Felix Brown, Medical Director of the Earl's
Court Child Guidance Unit and the other under Dr. Erskine, Psychiatrist, West London
Hospital. The groups consisted of psychiatric social workers, medical officers and
health visitors. In addition, arrangements with Dr. Felix Brown were completed by
the end of the year for the establishment at Sir John Lillie School of a fortnightly
educational group which will consist of the psychiatrist, educational psychologist,
teaching staff, school doctor, school nursing sister, school care committee workers and
a divisional health office representative. The group will discuss problems relating to
children referred by the head master. This association outside the child guidance clinic
should enable the psychiatrist to appreciate the work done by other workers with
children's problems, enable the group to understand the work of the child guidance
unit, and learn when to manage cases themselves and when to refer them to the clinic.
Centre for
spastic
children,
Cheyne Walk.
S.W.3
By arrangement with Dr. John Foley, the Medical Director ot the Centre for spastic
Children, Cheyne Walk, S.W.3, health visitors in whose districts spastic children
lived, visited the centre with the parents to see the children receive treatment. The
unanimous opinion of the health visitors concerned was that the visits to the centre
were most helpful and constructive.
Neglect and
ill-treatment
of children
Regular meetings of the divisional co-ordinating committee have continued. Home
helps specially trained to assist the mother in all aspects of home management and child
care were supplied to eight families.
Mothercraft
and homemaking
courses
lhe two mothercralt and home-making courses tor selected mothers held at the
Westway welfare centre in North Hammersmith and the Raymede welfare centre in
North Kensington arranged by the respective voluntary home advice groups were
continued. Average attendance was higher at both courses in 1958 than in the previous
year.
Liaison with
other bodies
Professor McClure Browne continued to hold monthly perinatal mortality conferences
at Hammersmith Hospital and in addition he held two meetings at the hospital
for medical officers engaged in ante-natal work at the maternity and child welfare
centres. A meeting of hospital almoners, health visitors, Divisional Directors of the
British Red Cross Society, home help organisers, tuberculosis care organisers and
divisional staff was held early in the year and a useful exchange of views took place.
Poliomyelitis
vaccination
Since August monthly vaccination clinics have been held on Saturday mornings at
Queen Charlotte's Hospital for expectant mothers attending the hospital for ante-natal
care. The clinic is staffed by a visiting team of Council officers. In November vaccination
against poliomyelitis was extended by offering it to young people born in the years
1933-42 (inclusive). In addition to general publicity an individual approach was made
to some 600 local firms and arrangements were made to hold clinics on business premises,
in further education establishments and in the evenings and on Saturday mornings at
health service establishments for young people who found it difficult to attend a clinic
during their working hours. General practitioners co-operated in giving poliomyelitis
inoculations, and out of a total of 21,812 vaccinated with two injections 6,292 received
them from their family doctors. At the end of the year a start was made on giving
third injections to children who had received their first two injections in 1956.
Lancaster
Road Infant
Welfarp
Centre
Voluntary
Committee
The Lancaster Road Infant Welfare Centre Voluntary Committee, which was
responsible for founding the infant welfare centre and day nursery at 63 Lancaster
Road, W.ll and, had been in existence since the 1914-1918 war ceased to function in
July. It had administered these establishments until 1938 when they were taken over by
the Kensington Borough Council. (The day nursery closed at the end of 1939.) The
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