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
Willesden 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Willesden]
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11
Adoption of Children (Regulation) Act, 1939:
Under Section 7 (3), 11 persons gave notice in respect of 12 children up to July 4th, 1948, and 3 persons
gave notice in respect of 7 children at the end of the year. 3 children were under supervision at the end of the
year.
DAY NURSERIES:
There are 10 day nurseries with accommodation for 490 children. There is a waiting list of 1,248
children, of whom 145 are in the prority classes; that is, either the child has no father or no mother, or one of
the parents is a chronic invalid.
The areas with the longest waiting list are still Kilburn, Harlesden and Cricklewood, and another
nursery is urgently required for the Kilburn area.
Cost of Admission:
Up to July 4th, 1948, the cost was on the scale up to a maximum of 7s. 7d. per child per day. As from
July 5th, 1948, the charge has been fixed at 1s. 0d. per day, but in two cases, owing to economic circumstances,
no charge was made.
Staff Establishment:
Supervisory Matron 1
Supervisory Warden 1
Matrons 10
Deputy Matrons 10
Wardens 10
Nursing Staff 60
Students 30
Domestics (mostly part-time) 40
Training of Students:
During the course of the year, 21 students have been in training at the day nurseries.
Wardens:
There is a general shortage of wardens, and only 4 out of the 10 day nurseries in Willesden have a
warden on their staff, and play therapy and education of the children in the other day nurseries is suffering.
Medical Supervision:
The nurseries are visited regularly by the Assistant Medical Officers in order to supervise the health of
the children and the hygiene of the nurseries.
Infectious Diseases:
The following table gives the number of children in the nurseries who suffered from infectious diseases during the year:
| German Measles | Measles | Whooping Cough | Mumps | Chicken Pox | Scarlet Fever | Infantile Paralysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 23 | 15 | 33 | 4 | 1 |
Measles Prophylaxis:
In order to modify the severity of an attack of measles, contacts were injected with globulin or serum.
26 out of 103 contacts were injected, 16 with serum, 5 of whom developed modified measles, and 10 with globulin,
none of whom contracted measles.
Parents' Evenings:
Parents' evenings were initiated in 3 of the day nurseries, and have now been followed in the remaining 7.
These have been very successful and are much appreciated by both parents and staff. The meetings take
place monthly and have comprised educational films, talks, "make-do-and-mend" and dressmaking classes,
in addition to social evenings and theatre visits.
NURSERY AND CHILD MINDERS ACT, 1948:
The above Act became operative on October 1st, 1948, and three private day nurseries have come under
the observation of the department.