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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Home Helps. The increasing difficulties experienced in obtaining
institutional maternity accommodation, particularly by the section of
the population which would normally use the services of private nursing
homes, coupled with a further increase generally in the birth rate,
resulted in increased demands for Home Helps to attend at domestic
confinements. Although it was not possible in every case to give the
service requested, in only very few cases were the demands for assistance
not met in some way.
Domestic Help. Home Helps, when not engaged in maternity
cases, are available to serve for limited periods in homes requiring
assistance of the kind specified by the Minister of Health under the
provisions of Circular 179/44. Staff difficulties limited the assistance
which the department was able to extend under this service, whilst in
a very large number of cases it was found that short period service
was not what was actually required. Nevertheless assistance of some
form was provided in a certain number of cases which was usually
sufficient to cover the period of the emergency.
In serving the cases analysed in the following table, the Corporation's Home Helps performed some very good work, which was much appreciated by the households concerned:—
| Home Help. | Domestic Help. | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | 33 | 7 |
| Part-time | 35 | 18 |
| 68 | 25 |
BIRTH CONTROL.
The Council have made arrangements for women who need information
on birth control, on the grounds of health, to attend a voluntary
centre at Croydon. During 1945 30 women from the Borough were
referred to this clinic and made a total of 51 attendances.
TREATMENT.
Minor Ailments. Two hundred and twenty-two cases were referred
from the Maternity and Child Welfare Centres to the under-mentioned
hospitals during the year:—
Croydon General Hospital 98
St. Helier County Hospital 76
Guy's Hospital 27
Hospital for Sick Children (Great Ormond
Street) 14
Westminster Hospital 2
Carshalton, Beddington and Wallington District
(War Memorial) Hospital 1
27