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maternity and child welfare work continuity is essential. The
mothers get accustomed to the same person, and if a change is
made it acts detrimentally on the progress of the work. It is
with a view to preventing changes and with a view to preserving
continuity that I recommend that the salaries of these two
officers should now be considered by the Committee.
Appointment of Health Visitors as Infant Protection
Visitors under the Children Act, 1908.
The Local Authority under the Children Act, 1908 is the
Board of Guardians. The circular states that it appears desirable
that, where practicable, the Health Visitor and the Infant
Protection Visitor should be the same person, and it is suggested
that the Local Authority appointing Health Visitors should consult
the Local Authority appointing the Infant Protection Visitors
in their areas with a view of securing this.
In my view this expression of opinion by the Local Government
Board is a very proper one. It is essential to reduce as
far as possible the number of visitors or inspectors, especially
in these days when there are inspectors for many purposes. Besides,
it is desirable that the supervision of children and their health
should be centred in one person.
I suggest that the Board of Guardians be asked to consider
the appointment of the Senior Health Visitor as Infant Protection
Visitor.
Nursing.
The home nursing services in respect of which the grant is
now available are nursing needed for expectant mothers, maternity
nursing, the nursing of puerperal fever and the nursing of
measles, whooping cough and epidemic diarrhoea in young children,
and of ophthalmia neonatorum.
The Council has already made provision by which in necessitous
cases midwives may be employed at the cost of the Council.
Any midwife may be selected for this purpose, it being left to the
Medical Officer of Health to engage the midwife for each case.
With regard to the nursing of measles I was authorised by
the Council to engage a nurse when necessary. The engaging