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and from the Cleansing Station, and she also had certain duties in connection with Special
Clinics, such as the Artificial Sunlight or Anti-Diphtheria immunisation sessions.
The Senior Health Visitor was responsible for child life protection, including the visiting
of foster children and children to be adopted, and one health visitor had special duties in
connection with moral welfare. To carry out these duties satisfactorily, it seems that at
least one health visitor to a population of 5,000 is desirable. The amount of time each
health visitor can give to her home visiting is limited if the number of clinics increase, or
if the clinic attendances are so heavy that more health visitors are required per session,
and it will be noted from Table XII that the total attendances at infant clinics during 1947
increased by 1,472 over the number in 1946. There was a corresponding increase in the
number attending the School Minor Ailments Clinics which the health visitors attended as
part of their duties, and there is no doubt that the employment of at least one further health
visitor would be of advantage to the Borough. When the proposed new clinic is built,
the number of clinic sessions there will probably justify the employment of yet another
health visitor, which would still keep the total number of health visitors below what appears
to be the desirable number for a borough of this size.
The increase in the number of attendances at the various clinics (which has also been
apparent at the School Minor Ailment Clinics) is a most satisfactory piece of evidence
that the new method of combining health visitors and school nurses is a good one.
Child Life Protection.
The Senior Health Visitor was specially appointed to deal with child life protection
work. This work continued during 1947 and consisted of visits monthly to foster mothers,
and the inspection of children under their care. Under the Adoption of Children
(Regulation) Act, 1939, the Child Life Protection Officer was required to report on and to
keep under observation all persons who wished to adopt children, and children who were
to be adopted, until such time as legal adoption has been carried out. See Appendix,
Table IX, for statistics of this work.
Consultant Aid in Difficult Labour.
The "Flying Squad" of the County Council for assistance in cases of difficult labour
is available to medical practitioners practising in Southall. During the year the squad was
called in once.
Institutional Provision for Unmarried Mothers, Illegitimate Infants and
Homeless Children in the District.
None.
Moral Welfare.
It was the duty of one member of the health visiting staff, who was designated Moral
Welfare Officer, to deal with all cases of unmarried expectant mothers referred from all
districts in Southall, and she endeavoured to obtain pre-natal accommodation and hospital
and post-natal accommodation for these mothers.
Arrangements were made in 1944 with the Middlesex County Council for the admission
of cases to the Pre-natal Home at Golders Green, and to the Post-natal Home at Hendon,
and these arrangements continued. During the year, 9 cases were dealt with under this
scheme.
The Moral Welfare Officer also assisted with the various social problems arising from
cases of this nature, and every assistance possible was given to unmarried mothers who were
willing to continue to look after their own children.
There was a slight reduction in the number of illegitimate live births during 1947.
The number was 53 as compared to 56 in 1946, and in 1947 the proportion of illegitimate
live births to legitimate was 53 to 1055, i.e., 5.2%.
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