London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Carshalton 1944

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Carshalton]

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Health Visiting.
With so many mothers either engaged on war work or out on
protracted shopping expeditions effective home visiting was a difficult
matter. Much time was necessarily lost in many fruitless calls. In
October the Senior Health Visitor retired on superannuation and for
the remainder of the year the staff of Visitors was reduced to 4.

The visits made, exclusive of Child Life Protection visits referred to later in this report were as follows:—

To expectant mothers-
First visits97
Total visits152
To children under 1 year—
First visits909
Total visits3,226
To children 1-5 years—
Total visits5,586
8,964

Clinic Activities.
During 1944 When the war was in its fifth year the renewal of
enemy air attack resulted in the evacuation of considerable numbers
of mothers and children in July and August. The work of the
welfare centres was as a consequence considerably dislocated.
Attendances during the second half of the year were much reduced
and for a time some of the sessions were discontinued, whilst the
Toddlers Clinics were suspended until the end of the year. Nevertheless,
in the circumstances, the activities of the scheme were continued
at a very satisfactorly level. Evacuation affected primarily the
Infant Clinics, the attendances of children showing a fall on the
1939 figures of 30 per cent. On the other hand, the work of the
Ante-natal Clinics was well maintained, the new cases and the number
of attendances being little changed from the year before. A substantial
proportion of the expectant mothers, booked for their confinement
at the St. Helier Hospital, now receive their ante-natal supervision
at the hospital clinic and when these are taken into account
the number of such mothers who received clinic supervision represented
56 per cent, of the notified births.
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