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
Dagenham 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Dagenham]
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78
number of attendances being 96, giving an average of
eight per session. Here again, for no apparent reason,
is found a diminution in the numbers attending.
Foster Children.
The following tables show the number of foster children and foster mothers in the district :—
| Foster children :— | |
| No. on register, December 31st, 1937 | 34 |
| No. added to register | 44 |
| No. deducted owing to refusal, removal, deaths or reaching age of nine | 47 |
| No. on register, 31st December, 1938 | 31 |
| Foster mothers:— | |
| No. on register, 31st December, 1937 | 30 |
| No. of additions during year | 30 |
| No. taken off during year | 33 |
| No. on register, 31st December, 1938 | 27 |
Those who intend to receive foster children, on
making application to the Authority (The Dagenham
Corporation), receive a visit by a Health Visitor and
Sanitary Inspector. A full examination is made of the
conditions obtaining in the home and a report on the
prospective foster mother is made by the Health Visitor ;
further, if the foster mother should have recently moved
into the district and previously acted in this capacity,
a report is obtained from the Medical Officer of Health
of the district in which she formerly lived. It will be
seen that every effort is made to maintain a high
standard of foster parent.
According to the existing law, when notification is
received that a woman intends to accept a foster child,
the Local Authority has no power to refuse except under
certain specified conditions, but it is competent for the
Local Authority to fix the number of children permitted