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
Finchley 1914
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Finchley]
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87
The reasons given for omitting to notify were as follows:—
Ignorance of the Act 121
Thought someone else had notified 54
Quite overlooked it 17
Thought notification had been! sent 3
No reason given 63
No reply to letter (removals) 11
Outstanding at end of year 5
The following shews how the Act has been observed
during the year:—
Number of births registered in district—941.
| No of Parents who notified. | No. of Doctors who notified | No. of Cert. Nurses who notified. | No. of other people who notified. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before letter—370 | |||
| After letter—258 | 257 | 12 | 28 |
| Total 628 |
Total number who notified—925.
Number of people who notified without a letter—667
= 70.8 per cent. of all births (last year 74.1 per cent, were
notified).
The Health Visitor usually makes her call about 10 days
after the birth of a child; in this way I find that all friction
is avoided, as by that time the midwife has usually ceased
her attendance, and there is no complaint of interference.
Enquiry is made as to the methods of feeding, etc., and a
booklet is left giving detailed directions as to the care of the
infant. Any obvious sanitary defect on the premises is reported
at once. The personal advice of the nurse is, however,
of the greatest value, as very often the people for whom
these booklets are prepared are too indifferent to read them