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MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
The Maternity and Child Welfare Scheme in St. Marylebone is made up of
voluntary and official elements. Of the voluntary elements, to the nature of which
reference is made later, those for which the St. Marylebone Health Society is
responsible bulk largest. The Council, who made a grant of £1,819 in 1934 to
the Society, and the inhabitants of the Borough are greatly indebted to this body
and those who work for it for what they have done and what they are doing in
relation to maternity and child welfare.
Apart from the Health Society, however, there are other bodies that assist
and that are more or less definitely linked up to the main scheme, the connecting
link being the Public Health Department of the Council. Amongst these bodies
may be mentioned Queen Charlotte's Hospital and Middlesex Hospital, which in
addition to providing lying-in accommodation, arrange for attention to be given
to out-door patients as well, and conduct ante-natal clinics and infant consultations.
At the Western General Dispensary the special clinic for children under
Dr. Bernard Myers does most useful work. Less definitely part of the scheme,
but still doing very valuable work and helping whenever possible, is the Home of
the Little Company of Mary, where unmarried mothers particularly are provided
for, both before and after the birth of their child.
It will be noted that at the end of the year 1934 there were available eight
centres where attention was given to infant and child welfare, and if those at the
hospitals are included four ante-natal clinics. At some of the centres, as is shown
in the accompanying time-table, consultations are held every day, sometimes twice
a day. In addition to the ordinary infant and young child ("toddlers") consultations,
there is a dental clinic for mothers and young children, open on four days,
for two of which the Health Society is responsible. By arrangement with the
London County Council the dental clinic is used also by school children, and in
conjunction with this there is also a minor ailment treatment centre for school
children. Here in addition there is a light clinic and a massage clinic which were
established in 1927, and are open on two days per week.
The following statement contains so much information with regard to the
scheme and the work done that it will probably be found useful. It is required to
be made by the Ministry of Health to show the arrangements made for maternity
and child welfare by the Council and by Voluntary Associations providing maternity
and child welfare services in respect of which the Council pay contributions under
Section 101 of the Local Government Act, 1929, or otherwise. Tables on pages 55
and 59 give particulars of the work done at the various clinic centres during the
year 1934.