A MINISTRY OF HEALTH FAILURE?
SIR,—We need war-supplies. Women will be called upon to make them. We recognise that this generation must sacrifice comfort, leisure, happiness and home life. For what? So that their children may live in a world uninfested by the Nazis. Clearly, if we neglect the mental and physical care ..of our young, we mortgage our country's future and our victory will be an empty victory. These remarks are platitudes. Yet recent official circulars show that they need to be repeated.
The Ministry of Health Circular 2535, dated December 5th, 1941, expresses the hope that the majority of women-workers will find friends or relatives to look after those of their children who are under school age. This circular and one from the Ministry of Labour (EDL 76 revised) outline proposals for each Maternity and Child Welfare authority to compile a register of " guardians." These guardians are to be paid 45. a week a child by the State. This sum it is proposed shall be supplemented by the mothers; thus for £m 8s. a year the State sells its responsibility. Who will these guardians be in any specific area? More probably than not those unfit for work or already overburdened by their own family responsibilities. The Health Visitors may call on these guardians of the young; no explicit duty of regular visitation is laid upon them however, nor are the guardians asked to take those in their charge regularly to the local Child Welfare Centre. It is consonant with this neglect of physical supervision that the State and the local Maternity and Child Welfare authority should disclaim responsibility for actions or defaults of registered guardians or mothers or for any mishaps which may occur as the result of the arrangement.
Provision on an adequate scale for these children would no doubt cost more and entail exertions on the part of the Ministry of Health which they are apparently unwilling to make. Setting up war-time nurseries entails responsibilitid itpdhelities may wish to shirk_ Can it be doubted, however, that provision of war-time nurseries would guarantee proper physical and mental care of our workers' children and be an investment for the country's future? We cannot win a valid victory by arms alone; nor without leadership on our home front comparable to that by the Prime Minister on the War Front.—Yours
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