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72
WORK OF HEALTH VISITORS.
In October 1920, two additional Health Visitors were
appointed by the Council. This enabled me to make a change in
the administration so that the time of the six Nurses was equally
divided between Maternity and Child Welfare work and School
Medical work. The area was therefore divided into six districts
(instead of three), and the Nurse concerned carries out all the
home visits in her district. The districts being half the size permitted
more visits to be carried out. Much less time is spent in
travelling, and overlapping of duties is prevented. Each home
is visited after the birth of a child has been notified, within three
weeks if a doctor is in attendance, and within fourteen days if a
midwife.
The following is a summary of the visits paid by the Health
Visitors during 1920:—
First visits to newly born infants 1,670
Subsequent visits to children under 1 year of age 3,530
Subsequent visits to children over 1 year of age and
under 5 5,344
Visits to expectant Mothers 173
Home visits for other reasons 867
Total visits paid 11,584
MILK (MOTHERS AND CHILDREN) ORDER, 1919.
This Order enabled the Council to supply milk free or at a
reduced rate to expectant and nursing mothers and children under
five years of age in other than merely necessitous cases. In
Ilford only strictly necessitous cases have been so supplied, a
scale of necessity having been approved. Each case is enquired
into by the Health Visitors and only endorsed for free or reduced
milk-supply by the Medical Officer when such enquiry is satisfactory.
Each case is investigated again at the end of a month and
the result again placed before the Medical Officer before the
supply is continued. During 1920 72 persons were supplied with
cows' milk free and 31 with dried milk.
A total of .3,296 quarts of cows' milk and 1,509 lbs. of dried
milk were given free.