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MASSAGE AND SPECIAL TREATMENT
During the year there were 26 establishments licensed for massage and special treatment.
Applications are made for the renewal of licences annually and the premises are inspected by a Senior
Medical Officer. It was not found necessary to cancel or revoke any licences.
CHIROPODY SERVICE
During the year 19 Chiropodists were employed on a part time basis and one full time.
Unfortunately due to a motor accident in the early part of the year, the services of the full time
chiropodist were lost to the Department.
In all 39 clinic sessions are held each week in various parts of the Borough. During the yeara
total of 1,705 people received treatment at the Local Authority Clinics, a further 183 in the surgeries
of chiropodists and 486 at the British Red Cross Clinics. In addition to these, 1,150 patients have
received domiciliary treatment. This form of treatment has shown a marked increase during the past 12
months. In all, 3,525 persons have received chiropody treatment through the Local Authority Service.
During the year 552 applications were received from persons requiring clinic appointments and a further
380 for domiciliary treatment. At the end of the year there were 245 patients waiting for re-appointments
for clinics and 96 new cases waiting for their first appointment at clinics and 17 for domiciliary treatment.
During the year the Council decided to waive all charges as from 1st April, 1968.
CARE OF UNSUPPORTED MOTHERS AND THEIR BABIES
Thecareofthe unmarried mother and her child is an obligation on a local authority as they belong
to one of the groups specially 'at risk'. The child's health is at risk from the time of conception, and
later the child's emotional and mental health is at risk because the mother is socially at risk. She
often receives little sympathy and help, and people feel that such difficulties as she may meet are of
her own seeking.
There may be a decrease in the number of illegitimate births because of the greater knowledge of
contraception, but it is likely that there will continue to be a need for help. The demand for Mother
and Baby Homes in the Greater London Area has decreased but homes are still needed for special
categories. The schoolgirl mother with her dual needs of care and education will almost certainly gain
by admission to a special home; many girls in lodgings as well as those with family conflicts still
find a mother and baby home a haven. Post-natally the homes provide an opportunity for the mother to
care for her child in a place where no one will press her into a decision which she may regret.
For the increasing number who do not seek admission to a mother and baby home there is a need
for skilled help, often over a long period. This is particularly true of the mother keeping her baby.
Some will need practical help, help with accommodation, equipment to set up a home, and help to obtain
care for their baby if they return to work. The shortage of day nursery accommodation may well mean
that the mother may live on supplementary benefits rather than embark on precarious arrangements with
daily minders and with broken periods of employment if her child is sick. However, such a decision
may mean that she both loses skills and becomes isolated. If she is fortunate enough to be with her
parents other problems may occur; it is notoriously difficult for two women to share a kitchen, it is
often even more difficult to share a baby.
It is still a momentous decision to part with a baby however the mother may have prepared for it.
Returning home means for both her and her parents a period of anxiety. The parents may well feel
anxious about her new friendships, but the girl herself, though not wanting to hurt her parents, may find
a greater need for the companionship of others.
245 cases were referred to the Social Worker during the year. Of these 15 were not interviewed,
mainly referral from other agencies in the belief that the mothers might become homeless. A total of
122 were admitted to mother and baby homes during 1967.
The following are relevant details of the 230 to whom help was given:-
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