London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
West Ham 1958
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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Attendances at the Child Welfare Sessions (including the Toddlers' Clinics) are set out below for the period 1954-1958. The percentage of children under one year, and one to five years who attend does not vary greatly from year to year, nor does the average number of occasions on which each child attends.
| Children under 1 year | Children 1-5 years | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | |
| Number of individual children | *2,309 (85%) | 2,166 (84%) | 2,179 (85%) | 2,441 (92%) | 2,412 (8%) | 5,169 (47%) | 5,012 (45%) | 4,569 (43%) | 4,740 (50%) | 4,631 (49%) |
| Number of attendances | +25,969 (11.2) | 23,774 (10.9) | 23,367 (10.7) | 25,682 (10.5) | 25,749 (10.7) | 11,384 (2.2) | 10,998 (2.2) | 11,047 (2.4) | 10,925 (2.3) | 10,223 (2.2) |
| Notes:- * Figures shown in brackets indicate the approximate percentage of available | ||||||||||
children within the age groups who attended the clinics.
+ Figures shown in brackets indicate the average number of attendances made
by each child.
Consultant Clinics,
The number of pre-school children referred from child welfare clinics to the specialist
clinics available on local authority premises (through the School Health Service) during 1957
were as follows
Eye Clinic 126
E.N.T. Clinic 8
Audiology Unit 26
Paediatric Clinic 36
In addition, 40 children were referred to consultants in hospital out-patients.
With certain agreed exceptions, there is consultation between the clinic medical
officers and the family doctor, before a child is referred to a specialist clinic or
hospital. A copy of the report is sent to the family doctor.
Speech Therapy. Thirteen pre-school children were referred to the speech therapist.
There is not much scope for formal therapy at this age, but the play group and parent
counselling may be helpful.
Audiology Clinic. Eleven sessions were held during the year. Forty children were
seen, (6 of whom were examined on two occasions and 9 on more than 2 occasions). They were
referred mainly by Health Visitors, Medical Officers and Consultants, and came from
neighbouring areas as well as from West Ham. Of the forty children, 8 were found to be
deaf, 4 partially deaf, and 26 had normal hearing. The remaining 2 were still under observation
at the end of the year. The Team (Health Visitors, Medical Officers, Head Teacher of
the School for the Deaf, and Audiometrician) who have now been working together for over
two years under the direction of Mr.C.J.Scott, Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon,
are gradually improving their skill and gaining confidence.
47