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The attendance of the children at the Centres has continued
to be most satisfactory. The additional sessions held
every Tuesday afternoon at the Health Centre, Pelham Road,
have been thoroughly justified and have resulted in the lowering
of the average attendance from 122 in 1936 to 93 in 1937.
In spite of this, both the Tuesday and Friday afternoon
sessions are still too large and in all probability additional
centres will be established by the Council in 1938 in other
parts of the Borough.
The average attendance per session at the Wandle Park
Centre was 71.44, a slight decrease on the figure of 74.10 in
1936.
The Medical Officer reports that the health and progress
of the children continued to be satisfactory. Whooping cough
was prevalent during the summer and affected a considerable
number of children in South Wimbledon. This caused a falling
off in the attendances at the Wandle Park Centre and led to
an unusual number of coughs during the winter. Apart from
this the commonest disorder was a gastro-enteritis which
affected infants and toddlers and was prevalent during the
autumn. Only one of the cases was seriously ill and this child
was admitted to hospital.
During this period there were a number of cases of mild
dysentery of the Sonne type in Wimbledon and surrounding
districts.
Eight cases of rickets were seen during the year. One was
admitted to Pyrford under the Orthopaedic Scheme of the
Maternity and Child Welfare Committee. For the most part
the other cases were mild and were either kept under observation
or referred to the Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Health
Centre. Forty-seven other orthopaedic cases were seen at the
Centres. These were chiefly cases of knock knee, flat feet, etc.
Fifty-five children and forty-nine nursing mothers were
referred to the Dental Clinic for treatment.
During the latter months owing to the increased number
of unemployed in Wimbledon there were an unusually large
number of applications for free milk. In necessitous cases cod
liver oil was also granted.
Ante-natal Clinic.
For many years the Ante-natal Clinic has been held at
Wandle Park House on the second and fourth Thursday in the
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