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DIVISION 9, comprising the boroughs of Wandsworth and Battersea
Dr. J. T. R. Lewis reports:
Additional premises—In July the purpose-built William Harvey centre was opened on
the Council's Ashburton Estate at Roehampton. It provides a full range of maternity,
child welfare and school treatment services for some 6,000 persons in new housing developments
in the area and about 11,000 others in older housing accommodation, and includes a
B.C.G. clinic taken by the chest physician, Wandsworth chest clinic, for contacts of
tuberculosis. The centre, although designed on traditional lines with rooms designated for
a particular use, is well suited to cater for future development.
It is a curious fact that hitherto no hospital or clinic has borne the name of 'William
Harvey.' There is, however, a special reason why this particular centre should be so named:
during the last seven years of his life Harvey lived in a house in Roehampton not very far
away and he died there on 3 June, 1657.
Day nurseries—By the selective adjustment of places the service has been kept in balance
with the local need. At the end of the year there were nine day nurseries providing 388 places,
and in addition a voluntary grant-aided nursery providing 49 places.
Vaccination against poliomyelitis—To meet the sudden increase in the demand in April
for vaccination against poliomyelitis, especially from the 15-25 age group, teams comprising
doctor, nurse and clerk visited the Locarno Ballroom, Streatham and other halls.
In all, 924 young people were inoculated at dance halls. At one session alone, some of the
young people had come from as far afield as Stoke Newington, Woolwich, Canvey Island
and from Yorkshire.
B.C.G. vaccination—Skin tests, B.C.G. vaccinations and inspection of reactions have
been carried out by teams of divisional staff. In addition to the annual quota of nearly four
thousand schoolchildren, over a thousand students at further education establishments,
municipal and voluntary, were dealt with.
Home help—This continued to grow, 216 more households receiving service at the end
of December, 1959 than a year earlier.
Safety in the Home—In association with Battersea and Wandsworth Borough Councils,
a 'Guard that Fire' exhibition was displayed for one week at Battersea Central Library
and for another week at Earlsfield Library.
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