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
Beddington and Wallington 1945
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Beddington and Wallington]
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MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE CENTRES.
At the beginning of the year the six Infant Welfare Centres maintained
by the Council, as an administrative measure, were re-organised
and conducted as four centres. The step was proposed to enable children,
especially those recently born, to have the benefit of weekly
supervision instead of fortnightly before the change over, and was
effected by the fusion of the four centres held on alternate Monday
and Tuesday afternoons into two centres held regularly every Monday
and Tuesday. It is expected also that, when conditions are more
normal and the hoped-for increase in the Health Visitors' establishment
materialises, it will be practicable to effect similar improvements
to the Beddington Village Hall and Wallington Baptist Hall Centres,
now held on alternate Wednesday afternoons.
The following tables show the attendances for 1945 at the four Cliild Welfare Centres and comparative figures of combined monthly attendances with the figures recorded in 1944. It is gratifying to be able to record that attendances have more than recovered from the setbacks occasioned by the unprecedented happenings of the previous year and it is a creditable reflection upon the work of all concerned with the conducting of this very popular and undoubtedly appreciated service of the department.
| Bandon Hill. | Hack-bridge. | Beddington. | Wallington. | Totals. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945. | 1944. | |||||
| Number of sessons held | 50 | 49 | 23 | 22 | 144 | 152 |
| Infants:— | ||||||
| No. of new cases under 1 year | 138 | 118 | 65 | 89 | 410 | 338 |
| No. of re-attendances | 1553 | 1340 | 540 | 653 | 4086 | 2429 |
| No. of new cases over 1 year | 44 | 27 | 9 | 15 | 95 | 99 |
| No. of re-attend-ances | 1521 | 1179 | 515 | 623 | 3838 | 2629 |
| Total attendance of infants | 3256 | 2664 | 1129 | 1380 | 8429 | 5595 |
| Average attendance of infants per session | 65.1 | 54.4 | 49.0 | 62.7 | 58.5 | 35.7 |
| Mothers attending | 3120 | 2563 | 1110 | 1362 | 8155 | 5238 |
| Total attendances | 6376 | 5227 | 2239 | 2742 | 16584 | 10833 |
| Average total attendance per session | 127.5 | 106.7 | 97.3 | 124.6 | 115.2 | 71.3 |