View report page

42
The visiting' of these children is not void of difficulty,
either the children are not always available to the visitor,
or parents seek to postpone treatment of minor ailments
until the age of school entry arrives. With health visiting
time more than fully occupied, I fear this extension is
already putting a stress on the amount of time which can
be devoted to health visiting work.
The establishment of nursery schools would appear to
be more necessary now than previously, especially since
children under five years of age are not now admitted to
school owing to the lack of classroom accommodation.
At the present time we are dependent upon health visiting
for the discovery of the defective child, who does not
attend a Centre, but requires correction and treatment.
Welfare Centres.
The following extracts of figures relate to work at
the Centres during the year 1936:—
(a) The total number of attendances at all
centres during 1936 20,334
(i) By children under 1 year
of age 8,969
(ii) By children between the
ages of 1 and 5 11,365
(b) The total number of children who
attended at the centres for the first time
during 1936 746
(i) Children under 1 year of
age 509
(ii) Children between the ages
of 1 and 5 237
(c) Total number of children who were in
attendance at the centres at the end of
1936 2,518
(i) Children under 1 year of
age 385
(ii) Children between the ages
of 1 and 5 2133
Table XIII. in the Appendix gives full statistical
details of the work of the centres during 1936.