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Convalescent Home Treatment. Children requiring treatment
are sent to Convalescent Homes through the agency of the
Invalid Children's Aid Association, to whom the Council makes
a contribution towards the cost of the treatment.
The extent to which it has been possible to make arrangements
under this provision has been seriously limited by the lack
of such accommodation. It is an interesting fact of nursery
provision, however, that the conditions which play a
large part in producing the debilitated child are generally cogent
reasons for accepting a child into the Day Nursery. Many of the
types which used to make up the annual convalescent contingent
are now part of the Day Nursery population. From time to time
when it has been impossible to secure a vacancy in a residential
convalescent home, consideration has been given to admission to
the Day Nursery as an alternative. It is perhaps appropriate,
therefore, to compare the advantages of the Day Nursery and the
convalescent home. For the ordinary debilitated child, better
food and better environment are the main considerations. How
far then is it an advantage or otherwise to keep the child away
from home for the whole 24 hour period? May the complete
wrench from the home anchorage be more of a drawback than a
benefit? There are, of course, obvious types of cases where the
removal from home contact is one of the primary reasons for the
need for convalescence, there may be others where sleeping conditions
are so bad that there is no room for any doubt as to
where the advantage lies, but under present conditions and shortage
of convalescent accommodation, the part that the Day
Nursery can play seems to be worthy of consideration.
Orthopaedic Treatment. Children suffering from orthopaedic
defects are referred to the Nelson Hospital under the
general arrangement with that Hospital for the treatment of
children attending the welfare centres.
Since the advent of St. Helier Hospital, cases on the Morden
side of our district have generally been referred there for the
convenience of the mothers, and because, in so many of these
cases subsequent attendance regularly at the Physio-Therapy
Department is necessary. These well-equipped, well run
special departments of St. Helier Hospital have been of
inestimable benefit to our district.
Maternity Hospital Treatment. Merton and Morden is
particularly fortunate for institutional accommodation specially
since the 97 bed maternity unit at St. Helier came into operation.
Reference to the tabulated statement on page 17 shows that of
the 1,052 institutional births, 468 occurred in St. Helier, 285
in the Nelson and 299 elsewhere. A table is appended giving
the cases referred from our clinics:—
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