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
Kingston upon Thames 1939
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
This page requires JavaScript
90
The Ante-Natal Services in the Borough can be divided
into two parts:-
(a) Borough Ante-Natal Services - for cases where confinement
is undertaken by a midwife at home of the
mother.
(b) Hospital Ante-Natal Service - for cases who have
arranged to be admitted to the Kingston County
Hospital for the confinement.
Special attention is paid at ante-natal clinics to the
nutrition of expectant mothers. Under the Ministry of Food
Scheme all expectant mothers can obtain one pint of milk
daily at reduced rate and, in addition, are considered priority
oases for eggs. Supplementary nourishment in the form
of dried milk, cod liver oil, etc., is supplied at the Antenatal
clinic, either free or at cost price, depending upon
the circumstances.
The following are the circumstances Scales which have been in operation during the period under reviews:
| No. in family | Scale of income per head of family after deducting rent and rates, not exceeding per week. | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | ||||||
| Free | Half Cost | Free | Half Cost | Free | Half Cost | Free | Half Cost | Free | Half cost | |
| 2 | 10/5 | 11/6 | 12/1 | 13/1 | 12/6 | 14/6 | 12/6 | 14/6 | 12/6 | 14/6 |
| 3 | 9/- | 10/- | 10/4 | 11/4 | 11/- | 13/- | 11/- | 13/- | 11/- | 13/- |
| 4 | 7/6 | 8/6 | 8/8 | 9/8 | 9/- | 11/- | 9/- | 11/- | 9/- | 11/- |
| 5 & Over | 7/- | 8/- | 8/1 | 9/1 | 8/6 | 10/6 | 8/6 | 10/6 | 8/6 | 10/6 |
Owing to the limited accommodation for midwifery cases
in tho Kingston County Hospital, the Almoner of the Hospital
requests a visit to be made to the homes of all mothers applying
for admission to hospital. These visits are made by
the Health Visitors, who decide whether home conditions are
suitable for confinement at home and a recommendation, in
accordance with the homo conditions, is forwarded to the
Almoner.
Other visits to expectant mothers are made by the Health Visitors from time to time, and the following table gives the number of visits that were made during the period under review:
| 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of home visits (individual cases) | 245 | 227 | 247 | 266 | 271 |
| Total No. of Visits | 335 | 347 | 377 | 367 | 395 |
(b) POST-NATAL SERVICE
In view of the small number of mothers who attend the
Post-Natal Clinics, these services are incorporated with the
Ante-Natal Services and arrangements indicated in Section 1
apply in this section.
It is regretted that the number of mothers who attend
the Post-Natal Clinics has been small during the period under
review. The following are the total numbers:
1939 1940 1941 1942 1943
30 10 13 13 40