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5 INFANT WELFARE
The Council has sixteen Health Clinics sited to be
reasonably accessible to most mothers in the Borough.
Sessions are provided at these clinics for ante-natal and
post-natal care, child welfare, immunisation, cervical
cytology, family planning, dental care, speech therapy,
chiropody and physiotherapy. They are staffed by a
medical officer, health visitors, clinic nurses, clerical
staff and in many cases a dental officer and dental
nurse. Some clinics have visiting specialist staff. In
addition, they form the centre from which is carried out
the domiciliary work of the surrounding district, namely
home nursing, domiciliary midwifery and health visiting.
Details of the various services provided at clinics are
given below, or as part of the sections of this report.
At child welfare sessions teaching in infant feeding,
general care and mothercraft is given by the staff. The
medical officer is responsible for examining all new
babies, giving advice in the problems of the pre-school
child, and the follow-up of all children requiring medical
supervision.
A mobile clinic continues to be used and now provides
regular child welfare sessions, at Steele Road, Acton,
the Brentham Estate, Hanwell Community Centre and the
Golf Links Estate. The mobile clinic provides facilities
where the static clinics are at some distance.
Mothers are encouraged to bring their children aged 1 to
4 years for "birthday checks" and this enables the
medical officer to determine the developmental progress
of each child and to assess any departure from normal.
Apart from routine work of this nature, other screening
procedures carried out include:-
(i) The particularly careful surveillance which is
given to children with certain ante-natal,
peri-natal and family histories - for example, the
child of a mother who has had rubella during
pregnancy. An observation register is kept for
this purpose.
(ii) The Guthrie Test. Testing fa phenylketonuria
continued, using the Guthrie method which is
carried out on blood taken by heel prick from
infants on the eighth day of life. The blood
specimens are sent to Great Ormond Street
Hospital for testing.
No positive tests were obtained in 1971.
During the year, 5801 children were brought to
child welfare clinics.