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By agreement with the Education Committee, it has been
possible to arrange for the mothers to attend the various School
Dining Centres, of which there are eleven, so situated as to be
accessible to all areas of the Borough. The mothers attend at a
time separate from the school children. The menus are varied
and well balanced. Special diet is arranged where such is
indicated by the report of the Clinic Medical Officer.
Application for this help is made to the Medical Officer of
Health, and must be accompanied by a medical certificate from
the Clinic Medical Officer. A patient cannot receive this help
unless she attends a Clinic in the Borough, and she is required to
present herself to the Clinic Medical Officer at least once every
four weeks in order that her circumstances may be reviewed
before sanctioning a continuance of this help.
This scheme has already established itself as a popular and
necessary adjunct to the Council's work for mothers; the benefits
to the health of the mothers and their infants are indisputable,
as, in the majority of homes where the income is small, it is the
mother who deprives herself for the sake of the other members
of her family.
Hospital Accommodation.
There are two large Voluntary Maternity Hospitals in the
Borough which are subsidised by the Council for the provision of
maternity beds for women resident in West Ham, viz.: Plaistow
Maternity Hospital, Plaistow, E.13, and Queen Mary's Hospital,
Stratford, E.15.
In addition there are 46 beds available in the Maternity
Wards of Forest Gate Hospital, Forest Lane, E.7, an Institution
administered by the Public Assistance Committee of the Council.
There is a very close co-operation between the staff of this hospital
and the staff of the Municipal Antenatal Clinics: the majority of
patients who wish to enter Forest Gate Hosnital for confinement
now attend one or other of the Council's Clinics for antenatal
care: indeed, arrangements for admission are usually made
through attendance at a Clinic. A report of each patient is sent to
the Medical Superintendent of Forest Gate Hospital before the
patient enters for confinement, with details of her condition
throughout pregnancy. Pupil midwives from Forest Gate
Hospital attend weekly at two of the Municipal Antenatal Clinics.
Convalescence tor Nursing Mothers and their Infants.
For several years this scheme has been in operation, but with
the development of the Maternity Services in the Borough it was
felt that the number of beds available, viz. two beds, was inadequate.
Accordingly in February, 1935, the Council agreed to augment
this scheme, whereby it is now possible to send away each
fortnight throughout the year four mothers with their young
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