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5
REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF
HEALTH.
To the Chairman and Members of the Urban District
Council of Harrow.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to submit the Annual Report on the Health and Sanitary
Circumstances of the District for the year 1935.
In the body of the Report are particulars which indicate the
volume of work performed, not only in providing facilities for the
rapidly increasing population of the district, but in augmenting
the existing services. This is particularly marked in connection
with the maternity and child welfare work. Up to January 31st
the Middlesex County Council continued to provide, on behalf of
the local Council, these services in the former Hendon Rural District.
From that date, however, the work has been carried out by the
Council's own staff, as also has been the work in the Harrow-onthe-Hill
area, which, up to December 31st, 1934, had been performed
by other agencies. The health visiting staff has been
increased to enable the necessary home visiting and clinic sessions
to be provided to meet the increasing demand. New infant
welfare centres have been opened up, but a rearrangement of
the districts serving the centres consequent on taking over the
work in the Hendon Rural District enabled some sessions to be
closed with the result that the net increase is only three, there
being sixteen weekly sessions at the end of the year compared
with fourteen at the beginning. A comparison of figures of the
work done during the two years 1934 and 1935 is set out:—
1934. 1935.
Attendances at Infant Welfare Centres:
By children under 1 year 19,290 28,138
By children aged 1 to 5 years 12,494 15,067
Number of mothers attending Ante-
Natal Clinics 465 823
Number of attendances at Ante-Natal
Clinics 1,354 2,370
Visits to expectant mothers 229 852
Visits to children under 1 year 3,580 4,603
Visits to children aged 1 to 5 years 2,018 4,084
Added facilities made available for nursing mothers include
the Consultant Ante-Natal Clinic, Birth Control Clinic, General
Practitioners' Ante-Natal Scheme, provision of maternity outfits,
arrangements for home nursing and the provision of ambulance
facilities for the conveyance of maternity cases to hospitals. For
the children, arrangements have been made for operative treatment
of adenoids and enlarged tonsils, for ophthalmic treatment, for
home nursing and for convalescent home treatment. The first