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12
Public Offices,
Enfield.
29th November, 1940.
To the Chairman and Members of the Urban District Council of
Enfield.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to place before you my Annual Report on the Maternity
and Child Welfare and Midwifery work carried out in Enfield during
the year 1939.
Owing to the War, and in accordance with the instructions of
the Ministry of Health, I am making this report as brief as possible.
During the first eight months of the year the normal work of
the department continued and satisfactory progress in each sphere of
activity was made. During the latter four months the service was
disorganised on account of the A.R.P. work which the department was
called upon to perform.
All four of the Council's Maternity and Child Welfare Centres
became First Aid Posts or Casualty Stations, and the Health Visitors
spent much of their time in organising the First Aid Posts, static or
mobile. Much credit is due to them for the work they carried out,
and the present organisation is the result of their efforts in co-operation
with the medical officers attached to the posts.
In the early days of the war, it was essential to concentrate
in the first place on seeing that babies were provided with the foods
to which they were accustomed, and although the welfare centres
were occupied by A.R.P. personnel, steps were nevertheless taken
to assure that the clinics were open an adequate number of times
during the week to achieve this object. The sale of foods continued,
as did the granting of free foods to those who were in need thereof.
At the same time a skeleton dental service was carried out, whilst
ante-natal work continued almost unabated.
The Committee will realise, however, that this work could not be
carried out so easily at the clinics whilst they were in occupation
by A.R.P. In order to overcome this difficulty, a scheme was organised
whereby ante-natal work was carried out by the midwives visiting the
homes of their patients more frequently, and by the regular visitation
of the patients by one of the medical officers of your staff.