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staff, sessions being held twice weekly at the Marlborough Hill
Clinic. Glasses where required are provided free of cost.
Provision is made for children wearing glasses to be retested
periodically. 92 children were referred for treatment during
the year.
Operative Treatment of Tonsils and Adenoids : Children requiring
this treatment are admitted either to the Harrow Hospital or
to the Redhill County Hospital, the patients being detained in
hospital the night before and the night after operation. During
the year 40 children were treated under this arrangement.
Child Guidance Treatment: 24 children were referred during the
year to the Child Guidance Clinic maintained at 2, St. John's
Road, Harrow, by the Middlesex Education Committee.
Speech Therapy : 17 children were referred during the year to the
Speech Therapy Centre maintained at 2, St. John's Road,
Harrow, by the Middlesex Education Committee.
Convalescent Homes : Up to 1939 arrangements were made for
suitable children to be admitted for short period stay to convalescent
homes. It was getting more difficult to find accommodation
and quite impossible when the war started. Some
authorities maintain their own homes, others pay for the reservation
of a certain number of beds at established homes.
Home Nursing: Welfare authorities are empowered to provide
home nursing for certain groups of ailments of children under
five. In this district such treatment is carried out on behalf of
the Council by the staff of the local nursing association. During
the year responsibility was accepted for the payment of fees for
the treatment of five children.
CHILD LIFE PROTECTION.
Legislation was introduced about 1870 to attempt to control the
worst aspects of baby farming. To-day's powers contained in the Public
Health Act, 1936, are substantially a reproduction of those of the Children
& Young Persons Act, 1932, which amended the provisions of the Children
Act, 1908. By section 206 a person undertaking for reward the nursing
and maintenance of a child under the age of nine years, apart from his
parents, is required to give notice to the welfare authority ; also if residence
is changed, or if the foster child dies or is removed. Every welfare
authority is required to appoint child protection visitors. The powers
of the authority are to prevent overcrowding where foster children are
kept (S.211), while by withholding consent it can prohibit the keeping of
foster children by certain undesirable classes of person. To obtain the
removal of a child kept in unsuitable premises or by unsuitable persons,
the authority applies for a Court Order.
These provisions do not extend to any relative of the child, while of
course they are applicable only to persons who undertake for reward the
nursing and maintenance. Exemption can also be granted by the