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
Beckenham 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Beckenham]
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The work done by the Health Visitor is summarised on the next page:-
| Home Visits, New | Under One | 1 to 5 | Special Illness | Expect. Mothers | Boarded Oat | No reply to call | Total Welfare Visits | T.B. Visits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miss Cusack | 200 | 900 | 1,573 | 335 | 173 | 35 | 407 | 3,623 | 229 |
| Miss Smith | 174 | 440 | 678 | 98 | 99 | 20 | 306 | 1,815 | 131 |
| Miss Wheeler | 139 | 460 | 978 | 79 | 79 | 21 | 333 | 2,089 | 156 |
| Mrs. White | 22 | 112 | 326 | - | - | - | - | 460 | - |
| Temporary Nurse | 43 | 235 | 600 | 16 | 30 | 3 | 115 | 1,042 | 32 |
| Total | 578 | 2,247 | 4,155 | 528 | 381 | 79 | 1,161 | 8,981 | 548 |
The total number of visits, 8981 compares with 8,823 in 1936.
INFANT WELFARE ATTENDANCES
| Town Hall C'tre | Alexandra C'tre | Elmers End Ct're | Wick-ham C'tre | Coney Hall C'tre | Ch'ch-fields C'tre | Total 1937 | Total 1936 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Children | 486 | 309 | 677 | 215 | 192 | 106 | 1,985 | 1,970 |
| Total Attendances | 4,486 | 3,745 | 6,654 | 1,720 | 1,833 | 842 | 19,280 | 18,222 |
| New Cases | 207 | 153 | 199 | 102 | 95 | 32 | 788 | 819 |
| Average Sessional | ||||||||
| Attendance | 86.2 | 78.0 | 65.8 | 63.7 | 67.8 | 33.7 | 68.8 | 61.97 |
| Sessions | 52 | 48 | 101 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 280 | 294 |
| Cases seen by | ||||||||
| Medical Officer | 919 | 618 | 1,586 | 441 | 536 | 354 | 4,454 | 4,492 |
| Average No. per Ses | ||||||||
The total attendances show an increase. Six sessions per week
have been held during the year.
It is undesirable for the attendance at any one session to exceed
50, as with a number greater than this it is impossible for the
Health Visitors to devote the necessary time to individual cases and
to get to know the mothers present, or to give those informal talks
which are such a valuable means to health education.
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