[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southall].

  • Southall (London, England). Borough Council.
Date:
[1945?]
Catalogue details

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

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southall]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/46 (page 10)
    cases have necessarily to be dealt with by this health visitor. Arrangements with the Middlesex County Council have been made for the admission of cases to the pre-natal home at Golders Green and the post-natal home at Hendon. It will be noted that a rise in the figure of illegitimate live births occurred in 1944 which emphasises the need for this special work. Ultra-Violet Light Clinics. A new ultra-violet light apparatus was provided at the Branch Health Centre and a Sunlight Clinic started there in April. Two sessions a week were held at the Branch Centre in addition to the clinic held twice weekly at the Manor House. The treatment is for expectant mothers and children under five years of age and produces very good results in the majority of cases. Ultra-violet light treatment is especially necessary for young children showing early traces of rickets infection, as the amount of natural sunlight during winter months is so limited. All patients are weighed at the commencement and finishing of a course of treatment, and the majority show a distinct gain in weight, improvement in appetite and general tone. It will be noted from the figures, that there was a very large increase in the number of expectant mothers attending this clinic, and there is no doubt that ultra-violet light treat ment for expectant mothers may have a good effect on the infant mortality rate. Table C. Number of sessions held : 85. Number of attendances:— First Visits. Re-visits Mothers 44 579 Infants 178 1,434 Post-Natal and Birth Control Clinic. Table D. Number of sessions held: 21. Number of attendances:— Post-Natal Birth Control. First Visits 86 25 Re-attendances 69 111 The post-natal clinic is of great value in preventing chronic ill-health in mothers. Small difficulties discovered and remedied at the post-natal clinic can have an immensely beneficial effect on the permanent physical condition of these patients, and it is desirable that, after the war, the facilities for post-natal examinations should be increased in the borough. Ante-Natal Clinics. The number of new patients seen at the ante-natal clinics during the year was 710, and the total number of attendances was 3,894 (3,348 at the Manor House and 1,646 at the Branch Centre). 527 cases were completed during the year, and the attendances in respect of these were as follows:— No. of Cases. One attendance 6 Two attendances 47 Three attendances 59 Four attendances 77 Five attendances 116 Six or more attendances 182 No attendance 30 For table of comparison of figures for last eight years, and the proportion of new cases to re-visits, see Appendix Table X. 10