London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

View report page

Marylebone 1938

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]

This page requires JavaScript

29
The number of visits paid in 1938 by health visitors to children between the
ages of 1 and 5 years was 7,153.
Infant Welfare Clinics.
At Health Centres Nos. 1, 2 and 3, maintained by the Council, children up to
5 years are seen.
At Health Centre No. 2, a special "toddlers' clinic" is held once a week. The
mothers are encouraged to bring their children to this clinic once a month. Regular
visits are carried out by the health visitors to encourage them to attend, and cards
are sent to the mothers to remind them of the date of the clinic when their children
should next be seen. Children of from 18 months to 5 years are also seen at any of
the other consultations held at the centre if it is more convenient for the mothers
to attend then.
In addition to these centres, consultations are held weekly at Queen Charlotte's
Hospital, Middlesex Hospital, Church Army Dispensary, and at the St. Marylebone
and Western General Dispensary. All these clinics are chiefly attended by infants,
but children up to the age of 5 years are also seen. At the Middlesex Hospital a
special clinic for toddlers is held once a week. All the consultations referred to in
this paragraph are open to other than St. Marylebone babies.
Clinic for Pre-School Children.
At Health Centre No. 1, a special clinic is held for 3 year old children. The
object of this clinic, which was established experimentally in 1931, was to endeavour
to make touch, before they entered school, with children who had never attended
a clinic or welfare centre, and find out something with regard to their condition for
their own benefit and for the information of the school medical officer. To this end
all children who have reached the age of 3 years are found from a register, and unless
they are already in attendance at a clinic, an invitation is sent and they are visited
specially, if they have not been recently seen during one of the health visitor's
routine calls, and attendance at the clinic advised. Of the 46 children who were
examined during 1938, 28 needed treatment for one or more conditions. Table 21
gives a summary of the conditions found.

TABLE 21.

Condition.Cases.
Dental caries12
Enlarged tonsils necessitating removal9
Under-nourisliment and flabbiness (referred to massage and sunlight clinic)2
Difficult and spoilt children (referred to child guidance clinic)2
Rheumatic heart2
Congenital heart1

Treatment of Minor Ailments.
Children suffering from minor ailments were treated at the London County
Council clinic at Health Centre No. 2.