[Report 1968] / Medical Officer of Health, Wiltshire County Council.

  • Wiltshire (England). County Council.
Date:
1968
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1968] / Medical Officer of Health, Wiltshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The following table shows the amounts of proprietary foods sold at clinics during the year :— Articles Basic Unit of Quantity Supplies to Centres for issue 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 Infant Welfare Foods lb 83,748 87.924 92,424 94,974 88,788 Baby Cereal packets 15,708 16,456 16,254 14,460 14,328 Weaning Foods (Meat, Fruit, Vegetables, etc.) tins 6,750 16,428 20,652 22,944 23,244 Nutrients (chiefly Marmite and Vitamin C Syrup or Juice) containers 43,848 50,028 53,184 50,124 43,152 Baby Rusks packets 16,352 18,972 18,204 17,184 11,436 Glucose containers 780 516 564 540 384 Malted Milk tins 6,792 6,000 6,828 6,480 4,992 Teats and Accessories 2,957 1,908 1,368 948 744 Medicaments 6,804 8,736 10,164 10,020 9,768 DISTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT WELFARE FOODS At the end of the year, excluding Swindon, Government Welfare Foods were being distributed from 113 Clinics and 40 other Centres e.g. W.R.V.S. Centres, Post Office Stores and private houses. Issues of food for 1968 are shown in the following table together with those for the previous 5 years. 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 National Dried Milk (full cream and half cream) 42,026 33,761 31,820 24,268 16,256 13,217 Cod Liver Oil 5,143 4,821 4,514 3,961 4,018 3,774 Vitamin A & D tablets 5,217 5,043 4,789 4,665 4,595 3,963 Orange Juice 53,234 57,234 59,201 47,480 65,389 64,611 (These amounts do not include issues made in the Borough of Swindon, although these were accounted for centrally in the County Health Department). Emergancy needs are met by transfers arranged within the County from headquarters. The continued reduction in issues of National Dried Milk is due to mothers preferring to buy proprietary milk foods and cheap liquid milk with their tokens. A slight drop occurred in the amount of cod liver oil and vitamin tablets issued in 1968, and the increased issues of orange juice noted in 1967 was slightly lower in 1968. The distribution of welfare foods continues to be carried out mostly by voluntary helpers whom I should like to thank for their valuable assistance. The total value of money collected for foods issued during the year was £6,677 2s. 8d. FAMILY PLANNING The need to limit expenditure in accordance with national policy continued to prevent the extension,approved in principle by the Health Committee, of the family planning service on the lines of the National HealthService (Family Planning) Act, 1967, to provide free examination and advice, with free prescriptions or supplies in financially necessitous cases. Support for the Family Planning Association, who provide the clinics in Wiltshire, was continued, however, by assisting with the accommodation of the clinics in County Council premises, by meeting the cost to the Association of examination fees, treatment and supplies for women for wThom pregnancy would be detrimental to health, as well as making, to the three branches of the Association covering Wiltshire, a limited grant of money to be devoted to free supplies in financially necessitous cases without medical need but where there were important social reasons. The number of patients for whom responsibility for fees, treatment and supplies was accepted on account of medical need amounted to twenty-two. It was unnecessary to use the Department’s domiciliary family planning service during the year as those concerned, mostly mothers of problem families, were successfully persuaded to attend the clinic.