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Health Visiting.
Throughout the year five full time Health Visitors were employed
on maternity and child welfare duties. In consequence, health visiting
was on an increased scale, some 1,400 more visits being made to mothers
and children than in the year before.
The visits made excluding those in connection with child life
protection referred to later in this report were as follows:—
To expectant mothers:—
First visits 145
Total visits 180
To children under 1 year :—
First visits 1,013
Total visits 3,225
To children 1-5 years:—
Total visits 4,418
7,823
Clinic Activities.
The programme of fixed sessions at the welfare centres was the
same as at the end of 1946, except that the toddlers' clinic at the
Rochester Road centre was held weekly on Wednesday afternoons,
instead of fortnightly, as from the beginning of September. The level
of attendances at the clinics during 1947 reached the highest yet
recorded, the total approaching 23,000. The number of babies under
1 year who attended for the first time at 788 represents 75% of the
notified live births, whilst the new cases of expectant mothers represents
53% of the total births.
Children under 5 in attendance at the clinics throughout the year
at 3,049 exceeded the previous year's record by 323. The estimated
pre-school child population of the district at mid-year was 4,480—
hence approximately 70% of the total attended the welfare clinics.
Routine Medical Inspection of Toddlers.
The programme of special toddler clinics was increased by the
institution of weekly sessions at Rochester Road Centre from the
beginning of September. The object of these clinics is to provide a
general medical overhaul for childre in their third, fourth and fifth
years as distinct from the limited scope of the medical consultations
held at the infant welfare sessions.
More than a thousand children, 186 of whom did not attend the
regular infant welfare clinics during the year, and 77 of whom had not
attended any clinic at anytime, were examined under these arrangements.
Out of 1,024 children examined, 403 had no defects. The
remaining 621 were found to have 883 defects, of which 465 were deemed
to require treatment and 418 referred for observation. The proportion
of children whose examination was completely satisfactory at 40%
was the highest yet experienced since these special clinics were
established ten years ago.
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