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There were no deaths.
Discharges during the year totalled:—
Males 16
Females 13—29
Remaining in on the 31st December, 1947:—
Males 15
Females 13—28
The grades of cases discharged and the results of treatment
were:—
MALES:
A. B.l B.2 B.3 Total
Quiescent 13 — — — 13
Improved 2 — — — 2
No material improvement — — — 1 1
FEMALES:
A. B.l B.2 B.3 Total
Quiescent 10 — — — 10
Improved 2 — — — 2
No material improvement — 1 — — 1
Owing to the extreme difficulty of obtaining nursing staff,
the Institution remained open under trying conditions.
The position as regards domestic staff was much easier than
in previous years.
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE
Report by Dr. Helen Campbell, M.B., Ch.B., D.P.H.,
Senior Medical Officer for Maternity and Child Welfare
The year 1947 brought little fresh development to the
Maternity and Child-Welfare Service, but was marked by an
increasing shortage of qualified Health Visitors, resulting in
considerable difficulty in maintaining the service, especially in
regard to home visiting. This shortage is national, brought
about, amongst several factors, by the general shortage of
nurses, and by the fact that during the war years many nurses
who might otherwise have taken their further training for the
Health Visitors' Certificate entered the nursing branches of
the Services. In particular is the shortage evident in London,
where lack of housing acommodation makes it necessary frequently
for the staff to live at some distance from their place
of work. The rush and bustle of travelling in crowded trains
and buses adds to the physical and mental strain, and so the
Health Visitors look elsewhere for work under less trying
conditions.
During 1947, in West Ham, seven Health Visitors resigned,
but it was only possible to appoint two to the vacancies thus
caused. As a result, the Maternity and Child-Welfare Committee
recommended, as a temporary measure, the appointment
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