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 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
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16
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, etc., was supplied at the Ante-Natal
Clinic, either free or at cost prise, dependent upon the cireurostances.
There was also a Government Scheme for the distribution of cod liver oil and orange juice, and the Borough provided, on medical prescriptions, other vitamin preparations and Dried Milk with Iron, either free or at cost price, after application of the income scale set out below -
| No. in family | Scale of income per head of family after deducting rent, rates and insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Full cost remitted | Half cost remitted | |
| 2 | 12s. 6d. | 14s. 6d. |
| 3 | 11s. 0d. | 13s. 0d. |
| 4 | 9s. 0d. | 11s. 0d. |
| 5 and 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 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 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 1947 and preceding years
Ante-natal visits by Health Visitors.
| 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of home visits (individual cases) | 271 | 159 | 199 | 292 | 266 |
| Total number of visits | 395 | 260 | 307 | 449 | 426 |
Home helps are also referred to in a later paragraph.
(b) Post-Natal Services,
The Post-Natal Services are incorporated with the
Ante Natal Services and arrangements indicated in Section 1
apply in this section,,
The number of mothers who attend the Post-Natal
Clinics has been small, but the period under review showed an
increase, i.e., 106 cases in 1947 as compared with 53 in 1946.