Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]
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21
CHILD HEALTH CENTRES
Attendances at some child health sessions have fallen during the year,
but the overall decrease is very small and only what would be expected with
the decline in the number of births. All babies being brought to the centres
for the first occasion are given a full and careful medical examination. In
addition advice on immunisation and vaccination and on general care is given
individually to each mother by the health visitor, who will already have visited
the home. Mothers are advised to attend at intervals of a few months, and
particularly at the time of the child's birthday, in order that the physical
and mental development may be supervised. In this way it may be possible to
note defects at an early stage and deal with them promptly.
Number of children who attended Council clinics during 1968:-
Who were born in 1968 3,878
Who were born in 1967 3,362
Who were born in 1963-66 4,790
Total attendances 46,207
Number of sessions 1,878
Number medically examined 19,680
Number referred elsewhere 831
Barton House | Shoreditch H.C. (including Cranston) | Elsdale Street (including Wick) | John Scott H.C. | Lower Clapton | Richmond Road | Upper Clapton | West Hackney | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Estimated population served by the Centre | 24,000 | 36,000 | 38,000 | 29,000 | 33,000 | 32,000 | 37,000 | 14,000 |
Number of first visits by health visitors | 488 | 719 | 739 | 503 | 748 | 498 | 690 | 519 |
Total number of children who attended | 1,258 | 1,224 | 1,853 | 1,444 | 1,410 | 1,327 | 1,841 | 1,673 |
Total attendances | 5,898 | 4,869 | 7,125 | 5,406 | 6,368 | 4, 176 | 6,337 | 6,028 |
Number of sessions | 195 | 204 | 312 | 204 | 248 | 250 | 239 | 195 |
Number of children medically examined | 2,201 | 1,961 | 2,890 | 2,283 | 2,592 | 2, 148 | 3,145 | 2,460 |
Number referred elsewhere | 79 | 46 | 64 | 92 | 114 | 7 | 339 | 90 |
Average attendance per session | 30 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 17 | 27 | 31 |
Per cent medically examined | 37 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 41 | 51 | 50 | 41 |
Per cent referred by M.O. elsewhere | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0.3 | 11 | 4 |
Lower Clapton Road Maternal and Child Health Centre, formerly accommodated
in noisy and cramped conditions at 28 Lower Clapton Road was transferred, in
November, to 6 Lower Clapton Road. These premises which were previously owned
by the Hackney District Nursing Association and now the property of the
Council were adapted to give better facilities for ante-natal, child health,
prophylaxis, family planning and cervical cytology sessions.
In 1967 a sub-committee of the Standing Medical Advisory Committee under
the Chairmanship of Sir Wilfred Sheldon examined the medical functions and
medical staffing of Child Welfare Centres. In 1968 the then Minister of Health
issued a circular (34/68) in which he endorsed the Committee's recommendations.
It would therefore seem appropriate to consider these recommendations in some
detail and discuss how they apply to procedures adopted by this Council.