View report page

During the year a total of 6,677 visits were paid by the Health
Visitors, this representing, as was anticipated, a further decrease in
the number of visits which could be made, the totals for 1936 and 1937
being 7,695 and 6,954. Actually the number of first visits to babies
under one year of age increased, while an increased number of visits to
cases of non-notifiable infectious diseases were paid. The chief reductions
were in the number of re-visits to young babies and older children
necessitated by the diminution of the time available for such visitation
owing to the increased number of fixed appointments the Health Visitors
have to keep at the Clinics and Centres. With a growing district requiring
extensions of its services, this fall in the number of visits is an
inevitable interim feature preceding an increase in staff, the necessity
for which has been recognised in 1939.
For the purpose of record it may be worth noting that 92 per cent.
of the births were visited compared with 90 per cent. in 1937 and 93
per cent. in each of the preceding two years, while an average of 2.3
re-visits were paid to children under one year as compared with 2.5
in 1937 and 3.3 in 1936.
Visits paid by Health Visitors.
681 first visits to babies.
1,579 visits to babies under one year of age
3,613 visits to children from one to five years.
211 ante-natal visits:—
127 first visits
84 re-visits
87 visits to cases of tuberculosis
48 first visits
39 re-visits
49 visits to cases of whooping cough
36 first visits
13 re-visits
64 visits to cases of Measles
52 first visits
12 re-visits
12 visits to cases of chicken pox
1 visit to a case of mumps.
22 investigations of infant deaths
13 investigations of still births
2 investigations of cases of ophthalmia neonatorum.
5 visits to cases of puerperal pyrexia
338 miscellaneous visits
6,677 Total.
34