[Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Surrey County Council.

  • Surrey (England). County Council.
Date:
1955
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Surrey County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    23 (i) Ophthalmia Neonatorum. In 1955 midwives sought medical aid for suspected cases of ophthalmia neonatorum in respect of 109 babies and 2 cases were notified by medical practitioners as suffering from ophthalmia neo¬ natorum. The case rate (i.e., the number of notified cases per thousand live births) was 0.11. Of the 2 cases notified by medical practitioners none occurred in the practice of midwives. Both of these were treated at home, and in neither case was vision impaired. (j) Infant Welfare Centres. The County Council maintained 185 infant welfare centres in the year as against 183 in 1954. Additional centres were started at :— (i) Hawkedon, London Road, Camberley. (ii) Stonecot Hill, Sutton. (iii) The Village Institute, Tongham. (iv) Haslemere Hall, Haslemere. The following centres were closed during the year :— (i) Emmanuel Church Hall, Sutton. (ii) St. Oswald’s Church Hall, N. Cheam. The following table shows the attendance at the centres for the year 1955 :— Number Number of children who first attended a centre of this Local Health Number of children who attended during the year and who were born in : Total Number of attendances dining the year made by children who at the date of attend¬ ance were: Total Number of Child Authority number attend- Division. (1) of centres provided at end of year. (2) Welfare sessions now held per month at centres in col. (2). (3) during the year, and who at their first attend¬ ance were under 1 year of age. (4) 1955. (5) 1954. (6) 1953-50. (7) of children who attended during the year. (8) Under 1 year. (9) 1 but under 2. (10) 2 but under 5. (11) ances during the year. (12) North-Western 32 105 2,394 2,245 1,992 3,118 7,355 32,085 9,576 9,281 50,942 Central 24 102 2,131 2,133 2,110 3,683 7,926 38,453 12,380 17,031 67,864 North-Central 15 89 2,228 2,066 1,660 2,378 6,104 32,944 8,352 8,222 49,518 Southern ... 28 95 1,262 1,095 1,131 2,129 4,355 16,867 7,056 7,986 31,909 South-Eastern 15 59 1,071 1,098 526 899 2,523 15,313 4,309 4,768 24,390 Northern ... 7 40 987 909 822 973 2,704 14,817 3,345 2,020 20,182 South-Western— Rural 34 94 1,320 1,112 1,145 1,933 4,190 18.583 7,404 8,504 34,491 Borough 6 32 Oil 552 533 925 2,010 9,878 2,703 3,903 16,484 North-Eastern— Wimbledon 5 25 672 591 570 991 2,152 10,821 2,798 4,211 17,830 Merton & Morden 5 44 733 676 650 1,256 2,582 12,326 4,031 4,446 20,803 Mitcham... 5 28 787 910 544 843 2,297 11,862 2,276 1,324 15,462 Mid-Eastern— Carshalton 5 34 666 614 624 2,136 3,374 9,948 2,375 3,999 16,322 Beddington & Wallington ... 4 12 307 269 323 477 1,069 4,393 1,848 1,561 7,802 185 759 15,169 14,270 12,430 21,741 48,641 228,290 68,453 77,256 373,999 Voluntary. Southern 1 1 8 3 15 22 40 58 101 52 211 SW (Army School of Health) S.C.C. Health Visitor attends 1 2 14 9 6 ii 26 112 80 57 249 It will be noted that the number of children attending the centres in 1955 and who were born in that year formed 77.9 per cent, of the total live births in the year and that the average number of attendances of these children in the year was sixteen. In certain areas circles have been started for mothers and fathers. Regular meetings are held to discuss various aspects of the management of children of all ages. Either an assistant medical officer or a health visitor acts as discussion leader. At these meetings the film strip projector forms a valuable adjunct. [k) Convalescent Treatment. Expectant and nursing mothers and children under five recommended for convalescent treatment are sent to convalescent and holiday homes. During the year 43 children under the age of five years and 29 mothers and babies were sent for convalescence. Patients sent under this scheme are normally required to pay a standard charge towards their maintenance.