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84
To the Medical Officer of Health
SIR,
I beg to submit the following report of my work for the
year 1908.
Factory and Workshop Act.
With reference to this part of my work, very little has been
done, owing to pressure of other duties. 153 new workshops
have been registered, and 88 re-inspections have been made.
All complaints received have been immediately attended to,
and, where substantiated, remedied. Only five outworkers'
premises were inspected during the year.
Birth Returns.
These returns have been received weekly from the
Registrar, and since the adoption of the Early Notification of
Births Act, in June, they have been forwarded weekly from the
maternity hospitals of the district, and daily from those in
attendance on the births taking place in the home. The
percentage of early notifications over the registered births
received was 82.8 per cent. The South district has been under
my care, and during the year 1,009 visits have been paid to the
mothers, enquiries made respecting the general health of the
infant and of the family, and, where needed, advice given as to
feeding, etc. Most of the infants are breast fed, the only
exceptions being due to physical weakness or domestic circumstances.
Owing to the varied nature of my work it has been
seldom possible to find time to re-visit, hence the good results of
this special work must scarcely be reckoned, whereas by steadily
watching the development of at least special cases, much good
in the future health, or even in the life-protection of the child,
might be looked for. For this reason the three months' work
done by Miss Wienholt was of great use, as she was able to
devote her time to the care of those cases visited by her in the
Borough.
Phthisis.
169 cases have been reported during the year; of these 54
were from common lodging houses or the workhouse. I have
made 226 visits, but as so many of the patients do not acknowledge
the complaint from which they are suffering, much
care is needed in dealing with them. Where it is found that
other members of the home have their health endangered, or