[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southwark, Borough of].

  • Southwark (London, England). Metropolitan Borough.
Date:
[1937?]
Catalogue details

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

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

Provider: City of London, London Metropolitan Archives

    38/177 (page 33)
    33 The success of these clinics will depend to a very great extent on the regular visiting of the homes and the persuasive powers of the health visitors. In Section 6, the Minister points out that, in many areas, a school clinic is available for the treatment of minor ailments and special defects in young children, and it is desirable that such arrangements should be more generally made. Further, that it is clearly desirable that the Medical Officer who will supervise the health of the children after they enter school should be responsible for their supervision during the pre school years. It is also suggested that, in those areas where the Maternity and Child Welfare Authority is not the local Education Authority, it might be possible to secure this desirable arrangement by agreement between the two authorities. Section 7 puts forward the suggestion that in Section 60 of the Local Government Act, 1929, where the two authorities are separate, the local Education Authority, by representation to the Minister, might take over the child welfare services as part of the educational services. Section 60 of the Local Government Act, 1929, does not apply to London. The Minister then goes on to state that in order to secure adequate supervision of the health of young children it may be necessary to increase the health visiting staff. He also encourages the Council to consider the desirability of establishing Day Nurseries in those districts where any considerable number of mothers are regularly employed away from home; and, lastly, he asks the Council to review their arrangements for the supervision of the health of young children and to inform him as soon as possible the result of their consideration of his Circular. In order that the Maternity and Child Welfare Committee may adequately consider the Minister's proposals, it is necessary for them to know the extent of the problem. In the Borough, the estimated number of children between the ages of 1 and 5 is, approximately, 9,700, and this is the gross total for which provision is to be made.