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59
of them to be carried out. I recommended that the health visiting
staff should be increased and that clerical assistance should be provided
to relieve the Health Visitors of clerical work and so enable them to
give a greater amount of time to the work they are specially qualified
to undertake. The extension of work necessary to make the Maternity
and Child Welfare Services efficient could not otherwise be
accomplished.
At the end of 1936 the Council appointed an additional health
visitor, and a female clerk for maternity and child welfare purposes,
both of whom commenced duties at the beginning of 1937.
This addition to the staff has enabled the work undertaken in
connection with maternity and child welfare not only to be widened
in its scope, but made more effective.
The number of home-visits it has been possible to make and
the increase in the number of attendances at the clinics is some evidence
of this.
The number of attendances at the clinics has increased to such
an extent as to cause a degree of overcrowding both at ante-natal and
infant welfare clinics which tends to inefficient work and calls for
additional weekly sessions. As soon as the new Centre in North
Worple Way is ready for use it will be possible to arrange for an
increase in the number of sessions to be held.
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE CENTRES.
During 1937 ante-natal clinics have continued to be held twice
monthly ; clinics for infant consultations have been held twice weekly
at the Essex House Maternity and Child Welfare Centre.
Ante-Natal Clinic.
During the year 105 mothers attended at the clinic; amongst
these 90 were expectant mothers who attended as new cases and 3
were post-natal cases. The number of attendances made by the
mothers at the clinics was 308.
Attendances, subsequent to the preliminary consultation and
examination, for further observation and advice were made regularly
by most of those expectant mothers who were not already under
supervision by a medical practitioner or midwife.
The number of expectant mothers who attended the Council's
Ante-natal Clinics represented 27.9 per cent. of the total notified
births for the year. In addition to those expectant mothers who
attended at the Council's Clinic there were 30 mothers, who had
booked their confinements at Hospitals, or Maternity Hospitals,
and attended the Ante-natal Clinics of those institutions ; this