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 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
This page requires JavaScript
(ii) Infant Welfare Sessions.
Infant Welfare sessions were conducted at two centres
in the borough, Burton Road and Grange Road.
The following table shows the number of sessions held, the number of new cases seen, subsequent visits made, and the numbers seen by the Medical Officers:-
| Health Centre, Grange Road | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | ||
| Up to 5th July | After 5th July | |||||
| No of sessions held | 102 | 102 | 101 | 124 | 78 | 67 |
| No of new cases seen | 322 | 407 | 435 | 432 | 217 | 160 |
| Total attendances made | 5574 | 5625 | 6930 | 7823 | 4407 | 3440 |
| No. seen by Medical Officer | 2425 | 2550 | 2537 | 3223 | 1963 | 1560 |
| Burton Road | ||||||
| 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | ||
| Up to 5th July | After 5th July | |||||
| No. of sessions held | 100 | 98 | 97 | 129 | 80 | 78 |
| No. of new cases seen | 195 | 204 | 315 | 380 | 172 | 141 |
| Total attendances made | 4657 | 4485 | 5923 | 8614 | 4808 | 4234 |
| No. seen by Medical Officer | 1783 | 1850 | 2185 | 3064 | 1987 | 1638 |
Rough graph No. 5 shows the course of the attendances at
Infant Welfare Clinics in the Borough, distinguishing between the
number of new cases seen and the total number of attendances
made yearly.
The story is simple and requires no comment save the obvious
one of continual progress broken only by the war time recession
in the years 1944 and 1945 when evacuation of mothers and infants
was carried out, because of enemy attack by flying bombs and
rockets. These over, the work resumed its growing proportions
to a peak coincidental with the 1947 post-war peak of live
blrths.
It is obvious that the present generation of mothers is
fully acquainted with the value of the Maternity and Child
Welfare Services provided and makes good use of them.
Dried milk and supplementary Vitamins, etc. are supplied,
at the Clinics to all cases recommended by the Medical Officer,
either at approximately cost price, or half-price, or free of
charge in necessitous cases. The income scale referred to in
Section 2 (a) also applies to dried infant foods, etc.