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responsible for more attention being paid by local authorities to administrative
arrangements for the expectant mother, and for the mother and
child. Such work has, up to this, been left largely in the hands of moral
welfare organizations. The Council is at present party to a scheme by
which accommodation is provided in hostels in the County for such
girls. Because so many are able to make suitable arrangements, it is
only a small proportion of these girls for whom accommodation has
to be found. For this reason then, provision of an institution for the
reception of this restricted class of person only would have to be by an
authority with a very large population.
An alternative procedure is the provision of an institution for the
admission of different classes. It often happens that a child has because
of some slight ailment to be kept away from the day nursery, the mother
having to remain at home to care for him. At other times it is the
mother whose own illness should prevent her having to look after the
healthy infant if other arrangements could be made for his temporary
care. There are again those whose homes are not the best places for
them to live in while recovering from some operation or illness. A home
for the reception of such classes of child, mostly well or convalescing
or in any event not seriously ill, could be the same place in which to
accommodate these girls, who could undertake part of the work of the
home.
The Honeypot Lane Isolation Hospital has, for the last few years,
been very little used. When opened at all, it has been for the reception
of convalescent scarlet fever patients admitted to the South Harrow
hospital. A decision that it should no longer be used for infectious
patients might result, should other hospitals not be able to accept Harrow
patients, in some scarlet fever patients, during epidemic times not being
found accommodation. On the other hand, it seems that advantage
would lie in the building being used for reception of such other classes
of child.
9. One of the earliest of the issues to be attended to is to arrange
that those women who wish to have analgesia during labour should be
enabled to have it. The difficulties hitherto have been to provide the
necessary personnel to secure the second person who has to be present
at the confinement, to arrange the training of the staff, and to obtain
the apparatus.
10. While it is hoped that the problem of scabies, even though it
might have been on the increase before the war will diminish after it,
it is probable that some provision for the treatment of sufferers will need
to be made. • Possibly the temporary arrangements provided at the
First Aid Post at the Car Park can continue until the erection of the
central clinic at which provision will need to be made for the treatment
of patients and their clothes.
11. As part of the arrangements for decentralising, the Emergency
Public Health Laboratory Service was designed, being based on hospital
sectors. The scheme proved a success, one very real advantage being
the facility with which the general medical practitioner could consult
the pathologist responsible for the work. Although in peace time the