View report page

72
mothers. The scheme included payment of railway fares where necessary. It was
resolved also to recover some of the cost from patients after consideration of each
case on its merits. During the year four mothers were sent away.
Supply of Milk, etc., to Necessitous Mothers and Children.—Under
the provisions of the Maternity and Child Welfare Act, 1918, milk, etc., is provided
by the Council for necessitous expectant and nursing mothers, and children under
the age of five years, under the conditions laid down in Circular 185, issued by the
Ministry of Health, in March, 1921. The approximate cost of these services during
the year was as follows :—
Dried milk, £2,297 l1s. 8d. Fresh milk, 15s. 2d. Dinners, Nil.
Collective Teaching to Expectant and Nursing Mothers.—Mothercraft
classes were started in 1925 at Woolwich. They were transferred in 1926 to more
suitable premises at Plumstead Centre, where they continued until 1931. In that
year, owing to the Centre being required for additional clinics, the classes were
transferred to the Old Town Hall Centre at Woolwich. They have not been too
successful and during the last few years the attendances have been steadily falling.
The object of these classes was to demonstrate to mothers suitable articles of attire
for baby, and to provide facilities for making them under expert supervision. Nowa-days,
however, it is possible to buy all kinds of ready-made baby garments at low
prices and it would appear that many mothers prefer to do so. In these circumstances
the Committee decided in November to discontinue these classes and so enable the
Health Visitor who took charge of them to spend her time on other work. The
attendances during the part of the year the classes were open were 151.
Blind Persons Act, 1920.—The Council, at the request of the London County
Council, have arranged that home visiting of blind children under five years of age
should be carried out by the Council's health visitors, and reports are furnished to
the County Council, as the occasion arises, when the home conditions are unsuitable
for blind children or it is advisable that the child should be admitted into a suitable
institution. During the year one new case came to the knowledge of the department.
Widows, Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act, 1925.—The
local authority may, in case of desertion of a child who is an orphan, administer the
payments on behalf of the child. No case under the provisions of this Act was dealt
with during the year.
Infant Life Protection.—From the 1st April the Metropolitan Borough
Councils became responsible in London for Infant Life Protection. In due course
the powers of the Council were delegated to the Maternity and Child Welfare Committee.
The Council appointed two of their existing Health Visitors—Miss Campbell
and Miss Frederick—to act as Infant Life Protection Visitors, and appointed another