London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Woolwich 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Woolwich]
This page requires JavaScript
90
The Work of the Health Visitors. The Council's Health Visitors divide
their time between home visiting and attendance at the Centres. They are
responsible for the visiting of all children under school age in their respective areas,
including visits to cases of ophthalmia neonatorum, measles, zymotic enteritis,
whooping cough, pneumonia and anterior poliomyelitis, but in measles epidemic
periods it has been the practice to engage temporary Health Visitors for these
particular visits.
The following Table No. 67, shows the classification of visits paid by the Health
Visitors in 1931:—
TABLE No. 67.
| Births—First visits | 1,893 |
| „ Revisits | 12,993 |
| Infant deaths investigated | 49 |
| Still-births investigated | 26 |
| Expectant mothers—home visits | 795 |
| Infectious diseases :— Ophthalmia Neonatorum—First visits | 7 |
| ,, ,, Revisits | 5 |
| Measles—First visits | 31 |
| ,, Revisits | 15 |
| Puerperal fever—First visits | 8 |
| ,, ,, Revisits | 2 |
| Puerperal Pyrexia—First vists | 29 |
| ,, ,, Revisits | 12 |
| Zymotic Enteritis—First visits | 3 |
| „ ,, Revisits | — |
| Pneumonia | 113 |
| Anterior Poliomyelitis | 1 |
| Encephalitis Lethargica | 1 |
| Visits unclassified | 242 |
| Visits unsuccessful | 2,000 |
| 18,225 |
In 1931 the Council, with the approval of the Ministry of Health, paid the
class fees of two health visitors who attended a refresher course for health visitors.
The Work of the Welfare Centres. These are eight in number and are
now all municipal. Infant welfare sessions are held at all of them and at three of
them ante-natal sessions are held twice weekly. At the end of the year 6 antenatal
sessions and 21 infant consultation and weighing sessions were being held
each week.