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17
POST-NATAL SERVICES.
Health visitors. Home Visiting.
A total of 5,621 visits were made by the Health
Visitors during the year. This shows a falling off compared
with the total for 1940, but prolonged sick leave
and changes in staff were responsible for the decrease.
Welfare Centres.
The voluntary workers have continued to give unsparingly
of their time and this invaluable help at the
Centres renders great assistance to the Health Visitors.
The Centres accepted responsibility for distributing
fruit juices and cod liver oil free to children under two
years of age, and later the distribution was extended to
children over two years of age. This undertaking causes
some congestion and adds to the normal work of the Centres
but co-operation with the Food Control Authority has continued,
as the Centres appear to provide an efficient and
convenient agency through which to make the distribution.
The venue of the Masons Hill Centre has been changed
from St. Mark's Hall to the William Morris Hall, Masons
hill.
. The progressive falling off of attendances at
Welfare Centres since the outbreak of war is shown in the
following comparative table of figures. This falling off
may be ascribed to several factors prevailing in these
exceptional times, e.g. falling off in births, voluntary
dispersal of population to quieter areas, and mothers
taking up whole-time and part-time employment in
increasing numbers and placing their babies out to the
care of friends during the day. Intensive raiding was
Process in the early part of the year and that
the attendances should be as-high as they are is a tribute
the morale of the people and to the necessary good work
the centres.
1941.
1940.
1939.
1938.
Total No. of babies on the
registers at 31.12.41.
3885 3671 3389 2749
Total attendances of babies
at all the centres
15989 20433 25993 27105
Total of medical exam'ns
2793 3085 3535 4174
Total No. of weighings
14583 18353 22899 24011