London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hillingdon 1966
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hillingdon]
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Personal Health Services
Ante-natal mothercraft and relaxation classes are held at 14 clinics.
| Number of women who attended during the year | (a) | Institutional booked | 655 |
| (b) | Domiciliary booked | 397 | |
| (c) | Total | 1,052 | |
| Total number of attendances during the year | 6,410 | ||
| Number of centres provided at end of 1966 | Average number of child welfare sessions held per month | Number of children who attended during 1966 and who were born in:— | Total number of children who attended during 1966 | Total attendances during 1966 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 1965 | 1961-64 | ||||
| 20 | 186 | 3,337 | 2,914 | 5,768 | 12,019 | 79,754 |
Care of the Unsupported Mother and Child
This Borough has continued to share the services of an almoner with the London Boroughs of
Ealing and Hounslow. Close liaison is maintained between the officers of the Health and Welfare
Department, the almoner and the social workers of voluntary organisations in this field.
The mothers are given intensive support during pregnancy, and arrangements are made for their
confinement and their return to normal life. If the mother wishes to keep the child, she is given all
possible advice and assistance, or if adoption is decided upon, then steps are taken to see that this is
correctly carried out. Most mothers are concerned for their children and are anxious to make the best
possible arrangements for their future.
There is no Mother and Baby Home in Hillingdon, and the Council accepts responsibility for the maintenance of cases in the Homes of other Local Authorities, and in those of various voluntary bodies.
| The numbers of cases dealt with during the year were as follows:— | 1966 | 1965 |
|---|---|---|
| Admitted to Local Authority Homes | 16 | 34 |
| Admitted to Voluntary Homes | 44 | 61 |
| 60 | 95 | |
| Interviewed, but not requiring admission to a Home | 20 | 11 |
Priority Dental Service
The trend, to which reference was made in the previous Annual Report, has continued. This is
that there has been a gradual decline in the number of expectant and nursing mothers receiving dental
treatment at clinics because a very large proportion seek treatment from their own private dental
practitioners. Some young children received treatment, as in the previous year, and it is hoped that this
tendency will continue. It is much better that young children are conditioned to the idea of having
regular dental treatment rather than that they should only make the acquaintance of a dentist in
emergency and merely for the relief of toothache.
The one measure which would make a dramatic reduction in the amount of dental caries is fluoridation
of water, but this measure seems to be as far away from implementation as ever. It should