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10
CHILD WELFARE CLINICS
The Child Welfare sessions are very well attended, and are appreciated by the mothers. Of the
fifteen clinics in the Borough, thirteen are purpose built, one is adapted, and one is in hired premises.
The constant aim is preventive and educational. A large range of infant foods are available for
the convenience of mothers attending.

DENTAL SERVICE FOR EXPECTANT AND NURSING MOTHERS AND
CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE (Table 6)
Once again there has been little change in the facilities offered, and the advantage taken of these
facilities in the Priority Dental Service.
It is not possible to assess the percentage of those in need of treatment who actually receive it
under the Local Authority Service and General Dental Service, but the percentage of children who are found
to require treatment at their first school inspection leaves much to be desired, as does the percentage of children
and expectant and nursing mothers found to require treatment who continue their treatment until they
are made dentally fit.
Obviously the advantages of having a healthy mouth and a sound and complete dentition are far
from being appreciated by too many of the population who are at the greatest risk in this respect. We can
only hope that our dental health education measures will become progressively more fruitful.
PREVENTION OF BREAK-UPS OF FAMILIES
A hard core of problem families exists in the Borough. All available help is given by the Council's
officers to support, advise and encourage such families to be sulf-supporting. In certain cases 'support in
depth' is necessary. This is extremely time consuming and the aid of the Family Service Unit is secured
for these special cases.
A case conference of the Council's officer and the Family Service Unit worker involved with the
family, is called at intervals. Progress is reviewed and future methods of dealing with the family are discussed.
Withdrawal of the Family Service Unit assistance is gradual and occurs when the family shows
definite signs of being able to be self-supporting. The Council's officers then take over responsibility for
keeping the family under observation for as long as necessary. Most of these cases are protracted, the family
being in need of continued support for some considerable time.
During 1966, seven new cases were accepted and two cases closed, the current case load is 34 families.
The Council made a grant of £2,650 to the Unit in 1966/67.
DAY NURSERIES (Tables 7 and 8)
The demand for admission to the eleven Day Nurseries continued at a high level. The standard
charge for admission remained at 17/6d. per day. Thirteen students completed their two-year period of
training and all obtained the N.N.E.B. Certificate. Four Staff Nursery Nurses attended a two-week Refresher
Course at Chiswick Polytechnic.
At the beginning of the year, improvements to the staff accommodation at Vale Farm Day Nursery
were completed at a cost of £1,080. In July, the building of an extension and other alterations costing £9,400
were completed at Essex Road Day Nursery to bring the washing and toilet facilities up to the standards
recommended by the Ministry of Health. At the end of the year, various works were completed at Princes
Avenue Nursery. These included the provision of an ablution room for babies and improvements to the
heating and hot water services and staff washing and toilet facilities. The works cost £4,925.
CARE OF THE UNSUPPORTED MOTHER AND HER CHILD (Table 9)
To meet the needs of the unsupported mother and her child, the Council provides residential
accommodation in the Belle Vue Mother and Baby Home, and the services of a Medical Social Worker.
Cases were referred to the Council's Medical Social Worker both by the Council's own staff and by
moral welfare workers of all denominations. Admission to a mother and baby home was arranged at the
appropriate time, until suitable arrangements could be made for them. The importance of after-care work—
of ensuring that proper and permanent arrangements are made for both mother and baby—is fully realised.
This needs not only experience and farsightedness on the part of the Medical Social Worker and the staff of
the mother and baby home, but a knowledge of human nature and a certain detachment from sentimentality.