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
Barking 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Barking]
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| Central. | Great-fields. | Alexandra. | Woodward. | Porters Avenue. | Totals. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of sessions | 104 | 100 | 99 | 156 | 148 | 607 |
| No. of attendances of children under 1 year:— | ||||||
| 256 | 113 | 132 | 285 | 243 | 1,029 | |
| (6) Old Cases | 3,252 | 1,674 | 1,856 | 4,875 | 4,691 | 16,348 |
| No. of attendances of children 1-5 years of age:— | ||||||
| 68 | 20 | 61 | 155 | 160 | 464 | |
| (6) Old Cases | 1,754 | 1,225 | 1,670 | 5,644 | 6,368 | 16,661 |
| Average No. of attendances per session | 51 | 30 | 37 | 70 | 76 | 57 |
| No. of sessions attended by Medical Officers | 104 | 100 | 99 | 156 | 148 | 607 |
| Average No. of children seen by Medical Officer per session | 22 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 21 |
| No. of children seen by Medical Officer other than at above sessions:— | ||||||
| (a) New Cases | 264 | — | — | 892 | — | 1,156 |
| 248 | — | — | 497 | — | 745 |
The total attendances during the year were 34,502 as compared with 29,883
in 1936.
The information which is brought out by this table is that there were 1,029
individual children (new cases), under the age of one year, who attended your clinics.
You will remember that the total number of live births was 1,133 which means
that approximately 90 per cent. of the children born in Barking attended at your
centres.
Mothers attend very regularly at the infant welfare centres with their babies,
more especially when they are under one year of age. They do not, however,
attend so regularly as the child grows a little older.
All the children are weighed and advice is given by the health visitors on
infant feeding, hygiene, etc. When the numbers permit, infants are referred to the
medical officer in attendance about once every four weeks, whether they are well or
ill, and at each clinic all ailing children are referred to the medical officer for advice
and treatment.