[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.

    148/202 (page 139)
    DIVISION 9, comprising the boroughs of Wandsworth and Battersea. Dr. J. T. R. Lewis reports : Premises From June the new clubroom at the Wandsworth Borough Council's Putney Vale estate was used for one child welfare session weekly. Housing development justified the opening in November of a child welfare centre in the new clubroom at Poynders Gardens Estate, Clapham. Two infant welfare sessions are held weekly and a toddlers' session monthly. At the request of the voluntary committee the Council assumed full responsibility from 1 August for the Putney Children's health centre which provides a comprehensive range of maternity, child welfare and school treatment services. In the past the Council has allocated certain staff thereto and has paid an annual grant towards other running costs. Thus terminated a half century of voluntary endeavour by Miss Eileen Lecky, M.B.E., and her associates in a fruitful partnership with the County Council and, in former years, with the Wandsworth Borough Council. Maternity and child welfare The services available at the Victoria Drive centre, were developed and now comprise infant welfare (including a special session for backward children), ante-natal, toddlers', mothercraft sessions and the following provision for schoolchildren: minor ailments treatment, special investigation clinic, ear, nose and throat clinic, physiotherapy sessions and speech therapy. Another study group for medical and nursing staff began under the guidance of a psychiatrist. A smaller group elsewhere was revived with fresh members but under the leadership of the same psychiatrist. In October there was introduced at St. Peter's welfare centre, Clapham, a second mothercraft class designed to meet the needs of mothers of problem families and other mothers requiring special guidance and help. Associated with this class has been an occasional creche transferred from Fairfield welfare centre, which has proved both more successful and more useful in the new venue. Prophylaxis The results of an investigation by the Medical Research Council in collaboration with senior officers of the division and in other areas into the efficacy of a combined prophylactic against diphtheria and whooping cough have now been published. Approximately half of some 5,000 children were given plain whooping cough vaccine and the remainder the mixed vaccine, of which the whooping cough component was from the same batch as the plain vaccine. Children given the plain vaccine were later immunised against diphtheria with two doses of ordinary diphtheria prophylactic. The survey showed that the protective action induced by the whooping cough vaccine mixed with the diphtheria prophylactic (formol toxoid) were similar to that induced by the same whooping cough vaccine alone. From September, in place of antigens giving protection separately against diphtheria and whooping cough, the standard in the division's welfare centres became either combined antigens (diphtheria and whooping cough) or triple antigens (diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus). The poliomyelitis vaccination programme concentrated on protecting school children before the summer holidays. The annual B.C.G. campaign for the protection of 13-year-old children against tuberculosis was carried out for the first time by teams of divisional staff. Home help service The continued extension of this service necessitated the separation of the division into three sub-areas instead of two. Prevention of break-up of families The equivalent of one and a half social caseworkers were employed on intensive work amongst problem families. After 12 months working, the wholetime officer had a case load of 16 families. The service has worked very smoothly, a notable feature 139