[Report 1925] / Medical Officer of Health, West Sussex County Council.

  • West Sussex (England). County Council.
Date:
1925
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1925] / Medical Officer of Health, West Sussex County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/44 (page 17)
    Health Visiting.—It is the routine practice of the Health Visitor to visit children four times during the first year of life, twice a year during the second and third years of life, and once a year during the fourth and fifth years of life, but actually many more visits are paid especially to children shewing any departure from normal health or progress. A large proportion of the children are attended at birth by the Health Visitor in her capacity as Midwife or Maternity Nurse, but for the purpose of Health Visiting her first visit is recorded on the 14th day or thereabouts. During the year, 1925, 23,741 health visits were recorded as follows :— Number of Visits to Infants under one year— (l) First visits, 2095. (2) Total visits, 11,707. Total Number of Visits to Children aged 1 to 5 years 12,034. There is general agreement that it is important to retain children under supervision, until they become of school age, when they come under the care of the Education Committee as there are many matters such as, Feeding, Clothing, Rest and Sleep, on which the majority of parents can be given guidance with advantage. As regard abnormal children, the Health Visitor is fre¬ quently the first person to detect departure from health and other abnormalities in the child. The following table gives the number of Centres working in the County at the end of the year, the days and hours of attendance, and the numbers on the registers at the end of the year, and the average attendance per week :— TABLE XIII.—Maternity and Child Welfare Centres in the County. Average Attendance per Session. Address. Weekly or fort¬ nightly Sessions. Day & time of Meeting. Expectant Mothers. Children. Present Arrangements for Medical supervision. No. on Reg. at 31/12 1925 Aver. Attendance during year No. on Reg. at 31/12 1925 Aver. Attendance during year Chichester— 15, St. Martin’s St. .... Weekly Friday, 2.30 •> 0.6 288 35 Doctor attends weekly Horsham— Tan Cottage, Brighton Road Ditto Friday, 2.30 135 25 Ditto Bognor— Parochial Hall Ditto Thursday, 2.30 0.5 122 28 Doctor attends fortnightly Shoreham— Town Hall Ditto Tuesday, 2.30 _ 140 20 Ditto Southwick— Town Hall Ditto Ditto 88 22 Ditto Northchapel— Old School Monthly Thursday, 2.30 - 0.2 29 10 Doctor attends monthly Midhurst— Congregational Hall ... Weekly • Tuesday, 2.30 — 75 20 Doctor attends fortnightly fCamelsdale— Village Hall . Monthly Thursday, 2.30 3 Doctor attends monthly ♦Arundel— Granville House, Maltravers St. Weekly Tuesday, 2.30 5 1.3 67 21 Doctor attends weekly ♦Littlehampton 20a, South Terrace .... Ditto Friday, 2.30 7 2.0 259 27 Ditto f At the end of the year this Centre was closed owing to the small attendance. * Voluntary Centres towards which County Council made total grants of £50 per annum.