London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kingston upon Thames 1944
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
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14
Special attention is paid at ante-natal clinics
to the general health and 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 cases for eggs.
Supplementary nourishment in the form of dried milk, cod
liver oil, etc., is supplied at the Ante-Fatal clinic,
either free or at cost price, depending upon the
stances.
There is also a Government Scheme for the distribution of Cod Liver oil and orange juice and the Borough provides on medical prescriptions other vitamin preparations and Dried Milk with Iron, either free or at cost price after the applications of the income scale.
| No. in family | Scale of income per head of family after deducting rent, rates and insurance. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1944 | ||
| Full cost remitted | Half cost remitted. | |
| 2 | 12s. 6d. | 14s. 6d. |
| 3 | 11s. 0d. | 13s. 0d. |
| 4 | 9s. 0d. | 11s. 0d. |
| 5 & over | 8s. 6d. | 10s. 6d. |
Owing to the limited accommodation for midwifery
cases in the Kingston County Hospital, the Almoner of the
Hospital requests a visit to he 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 home 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 1944, and preceding years.
| 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of home visits (individual cases) | 227 | 247 | 266 | 271 | 159 |
| Total No. of visits | 347 | 377 | 367 | 395 | 260 |
Home helps arc also referred to in a later
paragraph.
(b) POST-NATAL SERVICES.
In view of the small number of mothers who attend
the Post-Fatal 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 lander review.