[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hampstead Borough].

  • Hampstead (London, England). Metropolitan Borough.
Date:
[1939?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hampstead Borough]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    62/216 (page 54)
    54 Inspection of Maternity and Child Welfare Centres. In 1938 arrangements were made for officers of the Ministry of Health to visit and report upon the Maternity and Child Welfare Centres in the Borough. The Centres were duly inspected during the month of September and a letter, dated 10th November, 1938, was subsequently received from the Secretary, Ministry of Health, stating that on consideration of the report made by his Medical Officer the Minister desired to express his appreciation of the excellent work for mothers and children which had been, and was being, carried out in the Borough. The letter further stated that the Minister was advised that the character of the accommodation available for the Infant Wel fare Centres at Belsize. Mill Lane and Lisburne Road tended to handicap in important respects the work carried on at the Centres, as the accommodation, besides suffering from defects of con venience and general amenities, was unsuited for adequate develop ment of educational work by collective instruction, classes and demon strations,—a development which in the Minister's opinion is of the highest importance in order that the best results may be obtained,— and that the Minister thought that the Borough Council, in conjunction with the Hampstead Council of Social Service, should consider all practicable steps for meeting the needs of the service in the way of more adequate accommodation. The letter further stated that, in conjunction with the Hampstead Council of Social Service, the desir ability of further measures of co-ordination of municipal work with that of the Voluntary Centres should be considered by the Council, and suggested that, in this connection, the present limitations of the duties performed by the Health Visitors at the Infant Welfare Centres and Clinics for children between one and five years of age should receive consideration. The Maternity and Child Welfare Committee decided to invite the observations of the Hampstead Council of Social Service upon the contents of the Ministry of Health's letter. The matter was under consideration at the close of the year. Total number of attendances at all Centres during the year:— (i) By children under 1 year of age—11,376. (ii) By children between the ages of 1 and 5 years— 6,958.