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DISTRIBUTION OF WELFARE FOODS
1. Government Scheme
The Council acts as agent for the Government for the distribution
of National Dried Milk, Cod Liver Oil, Orange Juice and Vitamin A and D
tablets to authorised beneficiaries. The major part of the work is
handled on behalf of the Council by members of the W.R.V.S. and other voluntary
workers whilst the detailed accounting for the scheme is dealt with by
the Medical Officer of Health and the Borough Treasurer.
There are 15 Distribution Centres in the Borough, 13 of them at
Infant Welfare Centres.

2 Proprietary Welfare Foods
It is customary for infant welfare clinics to hold a stock of
proprietary brands of welfare foods approved by the Medical Officer of Health
for sale to bona fide clinic attenders at reduced prices. Over most of the
old administrative County of Surrey area these foods were bought and sold by
voluntary committees attached to clinics and working in close co-operation
with the professional staff at the centres and Divisional Medical Officers.
The profits made by these voluntary bodies were used to further the work of
the clinics.
On 1st April, 1965 clinics in the Sutton and Cheam area were
supported by voluntary committees whereas in the rest of the area proprietary
foods were handled through official sources. Between 1st April and 31st December
1965 it was possible to arrange for all clinics in the area with one exception
to benefit from the support of voluntary effort in this field. The one
remaining exception at the end of the year was Green Wrythe Lane Clinic
where unfortunately it has not been possible to obtain the necessary voluntary
support.
THE WORK OF HEALTH VISITORS AND SCHOOL NURSES
In his book "The Maternity and Child Welfare Movement" Dr.McCleary
ells us that John Bunnel Davis (178O - 1824) established the Universal Dispensary
or Sick Indigent Children in the City of London in l8l6. He was an early pioneer
of infant welfare and was anxious that the dispensary organisation should establish
district committees of 'benevolent ladies’ to visit the children attending the
dispensary and report upon the state of their health; it is doubtful whether
the scheme was every established.
The official history of health visiting dates back to 1862 in
Manchester and Salford, to the Ladies Sanitary Reform Association, whose aim
was to popularise sanitary knowledge and to elevate the people physically, socially,
morally and religiously. Literature on health topics distributed by three
or four ladies proved of little value and a respectable working women’ was engaged
to go from door to door to teach and help the poorer women as opportunity offered.
It would seem that. this 'respectable working women® was our first professional
health visitor’.
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