[Report 1944] / Medical Officer of Health, Batley Borough.

  • Batley (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1944
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1944] / Medical Officer of Health, Batley Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/44 (page 2)
    To His Worship the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of Batley. I have the honour to present the Annual Report for 1944. In this fifth year of War the health of the Borough has continued at a high level. There have been no epidemics and the nutrition of the citizens is apparently unimpaired, although the prolonged absence of variety in the diet is in- creasingly felt by all classes in the community. In the Summer of 1944 several hundred evacuees arrived in the town and this placed an increased burden on the Public Health Department as their health had to be supervised and naturally there was an increase in the number of mothers and children attending the various clinics. The evacuees had been carefully examined prior to their departure from London and therefore they were practically all free from infectious and verminous conditions. The attendances at the Child Welfare Clinics both at Batley and Birstall were satisfactory. The Council decided to open a new Child Welfare Clinic at Hanging Heaton as soon as possible following the conclusion of the European War. Shortage of staft* and the difficulty of obtaining the necessary equipment still prevent the opening of the Hanging Heaton Clinic, but it is expected that these difficulties will soon be overcome. There are still many people who do not take advantage of the scheme for the distribution of cod liver oil and orange juice. As these products are of immense value in the nutri- tion and growth of the child, it is hoped that they will be used to full advantage. The Ante-natal Clinics are well established and regularly attended by many expectant mothers, and the attendances at the Post-natal Clinics are slowly increasing. The two Wartime Nurseries at Mayville and Birstall were well attended and were much appreciated by women who had to engage in war-work, and had no place to leave their child. It is hoped that these nurseries will be contin- ued after the War. There will always be a considerable number of married women who require to work and have no place to leave their children. Further the nurseries can help to meet the pressing problem of the falling birth rate in this Country as women with children require at least a half day