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viii.
A special section of the report is devoted to the work of the
Obstetric Service, which covers the Ante-natal, natal and postnatal
periods. 3,491 new patients registered at the Ante-natal
Clinics and of these it was impossible to accommodate 1,347 in
hospital beds and so they were referred to Midwives or Nursing
Homes. At the post-natal Clinic 1,633 patients attended, and
at the Gynæcological Clinic, 2,099.
A follow-up of cases confined under the care of the Service
showed that 96.2 per cent. had no impairment of health, whilst
3.6 per cent. had some slight impairment. Only 0.2 per cent.
had any serious damage to their health. It can be said with
reason that the risks attending confinement have been brought
down to a very low figure, and it would probably be brought
lower if all mothers appreciated fully the value of early Antenatal
care.
Owing to the large number of houses totally destroyed or
seriously damaged by enemy activity, and the considerable
influx of population since the end of the war, housing conditions
leave much to be desired. There are a large number of properties,
some of which had already been scheduled or catalogued
for representation before the war, which under normal conditions
would have to be condemned as unfit for human habitationOwing
to the shortage of alternative accommodation, no steps
can be taken other than to endeavour to have repairs done and
the most serious defects remedied or ameliorated. Landlords are
reluctant to spend money upon property which has seriously
deteriorated during the war years, apart from actual war damage.
Also the difficulties of supply and labour do not ease the situation.
Such conditions call for close watching. The Sanitary
Inspectors inspected 9,321 houses under the Public Health or
Housing Acts, and 19,266 reinspections. 8,430 houses were
deemed to be not in all respects fit for human habitation, of
these 4,242 were made more or less fit during the year.
Food supplies have been watched carefully. The number of
premises in the Borough at which food is known to be sold,
manufactured or stored, increased from 2,491 in 1945 to 2,884
in 1946. To these premises 2,166 visits were made as compared
with 1,623 the previous year. It is interesting to note that the
number of catering establishments increased by 61.