Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health [to] the Corporation of the City of Capetown.

  • Cape Town (South Africa). City Health Department.
Date:
[1948]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health [to] the Corporation of the City of Capetown. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    22/156 (page 20)
    Infant Consultations. Health visitors invite mothers to bring their infants to the welfare centres for advice as to feeding and care and for medical supervision, and periodical attendance is encouraged for children up to school age. The infant consultations are primarily for preventive and educational purposes. They are not intended for the treatment of disease, but minor ailments are dealt with and cases of illness are referred either to the family doctor or, in cases of poverty, to the hospitals and dispensaries. A medical officer is in attendance and certain of the health visitors of the district are present. As in previous years valuable assistance has been given by voluntary workers at the welfare centres, who attend regularly at one or more sessions a week and assist with the clerical work at the centres. Students from the social science department of the Cape Town University act as clerical assistants at the centres as part of the practical work of a course. Nurses taking the health visitors course at the Technical College, and the mothercraft course at the Buxton Home, also carry out practical work at the centres during their training. In addition, doctors taking the course for the Diploma of Public Health, have attended for observation at the centres. On 13th January, 1948, a fortnightly session for European infant consultations was inaugurated at Mossop Hall, Mowbray. At the end of the year under review, 49 infant consultations were being held weekly. During the year 10,223 children were registered as new cases, and the total attendances of children at the infant consultations numbered 140,881. Details are shown in the Table on page 19. Of the 10,223 children registered as new cases, 8,436 (1,544 European and 6,892 non-Europeans) were under one year of age at the time of their first attendance, and 1,787 (338 European and 1,449 non- European) were over one year of age at that time. Of the new cases registered, 107 were of children resident outside the municipal area, viz., under one year of age, Europeans 36, non-Europeans 49; over one year of age, Europeans 13, non-Europeans 9. The new cases registered within the City (excluding attendance at the Langa centre) were as follows: European. Non-European. Under one year of age . . 1,508 6,602 Over one year of age . . 325 1,426 These first attendances under one year of age amounted to 63 per cent, of the registered births (39 per cent, in the case of Europeans and 74 per cent, in the case of non-Europeans). These figures do not include infants who attended the consultations of the South African Mother- craft Training Centre which, if included, would increase the percentage of European babies taken to the infant consultations. The work done at these consultations during the year ended 30th June, 1948, is shown on page 21. Toddlers' Sessions: These sessions are for European children between two and five years. Attendances are by appoint¬ ment and the doctor and nurse are able to give constructive advice more adequately than at the ordinary welfare sessions, at which it is impossible to regulate the number of cases attending. A session is held weekly at the Salt River centre. The first attendances during the year numbered 49 and the total attendances 811. Instructional Test Feeds: Medical officers frequently recommend nursing mothers to attend for special instruction in feeding their infants, and for this purpose a special hour is set aside weekly at each centre, apart from the ordinary medical session, so that there are no distractions for mother or nurse. During the year 3,300 mothers attended with their infants for instructional test feeding (846 European and 2,454 non-Euro¬ pean). These were made up from the different centres as follows:— Keerom Street Aspeling Street Bloemhof Devil’s Peak Estate . . Woodstock Mowbray Maitland Brooklyn Windermere Langa Athlone Bokmakirie Claremont (Station Rd.) Claremont (Wesley St.) Lansdowne Wynberg Parkwood and Southfield Retreat Muizenberg Kalk Bay European. Non-Europeai 134 273 — 393 — 111 5 — 187 132 9 — 49 175 81 — — 165 — 83 13 204 — 228 103 113 5 135 56 63 103 144 14 15 60 199 24 — 3 21 846 2,454 Totals