London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Residential establishments for young children in care
Private residential establishments and those under the management of the Children's
Committee are visited regularly by the Council's medical officers, who advise on hygiene
and child health. A register is maintained of physically and mentally handicapped children
and individual case histories are regularly reviewed by a senior medical officer, so that the
need for special education or long-term care can be anticipated.
Adoption and boarding out
The number of children in care who were being considered for adoption or boarding-out referred for advice by the Children's Officer, and the decisions reached, are shown below:
| 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suitable for adoption | 229 | 270 | 259 | 291 | 270 |
| Suitable for adoption subject to certain conditions | 2 | 2 | 34 | 45 | 48 |
| Unsuitable for adoption but suitable for boarding out | 5 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 9 |
| Withdrawn by Children's Officer | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | - |
| 238 | 296 | 315 | 346 | 327 | |
| 2. Boarding out cases: | |||||
| Suitable for boarding out | 293 | 454 | 445 | 486 | 465 |
| Withdrawn by Children's Officer | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 296 | 460 | 450 | 487 | 466 | |
| 3. Unsuitable for either adoption or boarding out | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| TOTAL | 535 | 756 | 766 | 834 | 798 |
Care of the unmarried mother and her child
Moral welfare associations—Financial assistance totalling £16,543 was given during the
year to the five large moral welfare associations of the major religious denominations:
£
London Diocesan Council for Moral Welfare 8,850
Southwark Diocesan Association for Moral Welfare 6,250
Westminster Catholic Social Welfare Committee 705
Southwark Catholic Rescue Society 588
Jewish Board of Guardians 150
Mother and baby homes—Voluntary organisations provide most of the mother and baby
homes in London, supported by grants in aid from the Council under the National Health
Service Act, 1946. A total of £15,647 (including £4,742 for special works) was paid during
the year to the 16 homes receiving grant and the number of expectant and nursing mothers
admitted to these homes was 1,545. One mother and baby home is maintained by the Welfare
department together with two other units within their larger homes. The following
table shows grants and number of girls admitted to the voluntary homes during the last
five years.
1959 1960 1961 1962 1963
Total grants £10,237 £8,865 £9,998 £11,743 £15,647
Number of expectant and nursing
mothers admitted 1,072 1,136 1,171 1,599 1,545
A conference was held at County Hall with representatives from voluntary organisations.
The main topics discussed were arrangements for admission to mother and baby homes and
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