[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council 1958].

  • London County Council (London, England). County of London.
Date:
1959
Catalogue details

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

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council 1958]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    REPORTS BY THE DIVISIONAL MEDICAL OFFICERS DIVISION I, comprising the boroughs of Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith and Kensington. Dr. B. E. A. Sharpe reports: Mental health education Two case conference groups were started during the year. The groups met fort nightly, one under the leadership of Dr. Felix Brown, Medical Director of the Earl's Court Child Guidance Unit and the other under Dr. Erskine, Psychiatrist, West London Hospital. The groups consisted of psychiatric social workers, medical officers and health visitors. In addition, arrangements with Dr. Felix Brown were completed by the end of the year for the establishment at Sir John Lillie School of a fortnightly educational group which will consist of the psychiatrist, educational psychologist, teaching staff, school doctor, school nursing sister, school care committee workers and a divisional health office representative. The group will discuss problems relating to children referred by the head master. This association outside the child guidance clinic should enable the psychiatrist to appreciate the work done by other workers with children's problems, enable the group to understand the work of the child guidance unit, and learn when to manage cases themselves and when to refer them to the clinic. Centre for spastic children, Cheyne Walk. S.W.3 By arrangement with Dr. John Foley, the Medical Director ot the Centre for spastic Children, Cheyne Walk, S.W.3, health visitors in whose districts spastic children lived, visited the centre with the parents to see the children receive treatment. The unanimous opinion of the health visitors concerned was that the visits to the centre were most helpful and constructive. Neglect and ill-treatment of children Regular meetings of the divisional co-ordinating committee have continued. Home helps specially trained to assist the mother in all aspects of home management and child care were supplied to eight families. Mothercraft and home making courses lhe two mothercralt and home-making courses tor selected mothers held at the Westway welfare centre in North Hammersmith and the Raymede welfare centre in North Kensington arranged by the respective voluntary home advice groups were continued. Average attendance was higher at both courses in 1958 than in the previous year. Liaison with other bodies Professor McClure Browne continued to hold monthly perinatal mortality con ferences at Hammersmith Hospital and in addition he held two meetings at the hospital for medical officers engaged in ante-natal work at the maternity and child welfare centres. A meeting of hospital almoners, health visitors, Divisional Directors of the British Red Cross Society, home help organisers, tuberculosis care organisers and divisional staff was held early in the year and a useful exchange of views took place. Poliomyelitis vaccination Since August monthly vaccination clinics have been held on Saturday mornings at Queen Charlotte's Hospital for expectant mothers attending the hospital for ante-natal care. The clinic is staffed by a visiting team of Council officers. In November vaccination against poliomyelitis was extended by offering it to young people born in the years 1933-42 (inclusive). In addition to general publicity an individual approach was made to some 600 local firms and arrangements were made to hold clinics on business premises, in further education establishments and in the evenings and on Saturday mornings at health service establishments for young people who found it difficult to attend a clinic during their working hours. General practitioners co-operated in giving poliomyelitis inoculations, and out of a total of 21,812 vaccinated with two injections 6,292 received them from their family doctors. At the end of the year a start was made on giving third injections to children who had received their first two injections in 1956. Lancaster Road Infant Welfarp Centre Voluntary Committee The Lancaster Road Infant Welfare Centre Voluntary Committee, which was responsible for founding the infant welfare centre and day nursery at 63 Lancaster Road, W.ll and, had been in existence since the 1914-1918 war ceased to function in July. It had administered these establishments until 1938 when they were taken over by the Kensington Borough Council. (The day nursery closed at the end of 1939.) The 124