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established in 1920 as the first Council clinic. The work there is
carried on in suitable premises belonging to St. Barnabas Church,
West Silvertown. Grange Road, Forest Gate, and Maybury Road
clinics are modern buildings erected for the purpose, being fully
equipped for all maternity and child welfare work, including
dental treatment.
Voluntary clinics. There are six voluntary clinics situated in
areas of the borough not served by the Council clinics. Three of
these clinics are buildings used for maternity and child welfare
work only, the other three being held in rooms adapted for the
purpose. A municipal health visitor attends at two of the clinics,
so that the clinic work is carried on in close co-operation with the
district visiting. It is important to note this inter-relation between
the two services. Twenty-three sessions are held weekly. A
table in the Appendix gives the days and times of the clinics, both
municipal and voluntary. At the municipal clinics the rule is that
every new case, infant or toddler, should be examined by the
doctor on the first visit and afterwards at regular intervals, for
example, monthly, until the child attains one year of age; thereafter
it should attend quarterly. Special cases are seen more
frequently according to the wishes of the doctor and the needs of
the child. "Absentee" post cards are sent in respect of every
child who is not brought to the clinic within three months from
the date of the previous visit. The health visitors who staff the
clinics work in the districts immediately adjoining their respective
clinics. This arrangement is of material assistance to the clinic
medical officers and to the health visitors. Of the total notified
live births in 1937, it was found that 79.8 per cent. attended the
infant welfare centres throughout the year.
Table XI. gives details of the work carried out at the clinics
during the course of the year.
Special facilities.
Dental treatment. Dental treatment is provided for
expectant and nursing mothers and for the pre-school child through
attendance at the various clinics in the borough. The dental scheme
for mothers includes the provision of dentures in cases selected by
the dental surgeon. There is no charge for dental treatment, but
payment is claimed from the patient for dentures supplied, according
to a scale approved by the Council.
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