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 1946
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
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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 con 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, etc. is supplied at the Arte-Nutal
Clinic, either free or at cost price, defending upon the circumstances.
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 application of the income scale.
| No. in family | Scale of income per head of family after deducting rent, rates and insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Full cost remitted | Half cost remitted | |
| 2 | 12 s. 6d. | 14s. 6d. |
| 3 | 11s. 0d. | 13s. 0d. |
| 4 | 9s. 0d. | 11s. 0d. |
| 5 & over | 8s. 6d. | 10s. 6d. |
cling to the limited accommodation for midwifery cases
in the Kingston County Hospital, the Almoner of the Hospital
requests a visit to be made to the homes of oil 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
Icr-varded 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 cf visits that were made during 1946 and preceding years.
| 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of home visits (individual cases) | 266 | 271 | 159 | 199 | 292 |
| Total No. of visits | 367 | 395 | 260 | 307 | 449 |
Home helps are also referred to in a later paragraph.
(b)POST-NATAL SERVICES .
The Post Natal Services are incorporated with the AnteNatal
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. In 1946 fifty three mothers attended for post-natal
examination.
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