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
Tottenham 1961
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Tottenham]
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It is hoped to extend the contacts with workers in this essential aspect of the
field of child health.
Dally Guardian Scheme
There has been a decrease in the number of children minded by the day under this scheme although they have been minded for longer periods as can be seen from the following table:-
| 1961 | 1960 | 1959 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Daily Guardians on register | 263 | 197 | 166 |
| Number of Daily Guardians minding children | 103 | 111 | 90 |
| Number of children being minded | 114 | 141 | 106 |
| Total number of children minded during the year | 252 | 297 | 231 |
| Total number of days minded | 30,420 | 29,128 | 23,591 |
Day Nurseries
There are three day nurseries in the Area, one in Hornsey and two in Tottenham,
provided for daytime care of certain children in the under five years of age group.
Intrinsically, admission to a day nursery is based on health grounds, but to
ensure that the limited accommodation is used for children in most need, a scheme xs
operated to confine addmissions to certain categories.
These are children whose mothers are unsupported (i.e. unmarried, widow, etc.)
who are anxious to keep their children with them but who must necessarily go out to
work,
or where the home conditions are in themselves unsatisfactory,
or where mother is incapable of undertaking full care of her children so that the
children's health is likely to suffer,
or where the mother is compelled to work as an economic necessity because the
father's net income is below a certain level,
or where the child itself is handicapped, being either a deaf, partially deaf,
partially sighted child, etc.
Certain other conditions must also be observed and these include:-
that there are no other satisfactory means of
daily minding.
that it will not be detrimental to the child's
health to be admitted.
that the placing of the child is necessary to
assist in its support.
that any mother desirous of placing her child
in a nursery by reason of her employment must
be employed for at least 30 hours each week.