The hours of work are usually from 9 A.M. to 5 or 6 P.M. and to 1 P.M. on Saturdays. If we consider the nature of the work, the holidays appear most inadequate--viz.: only from two to three weeks per annum are allowed in London, and from ten to fourteen days in many provincial towns.
The Health Visitor, as a public official, was not known until 1899, when several were appointed by the City Council of Birmingham. The name "Health Visitor" was thought to be more feminine and suitable than that of Inspector, and it was imagined that she would in consequence be better received in the homes of the people. As a private society in Manchester had previously engaged women of an inferior class and education with the title of "Health Visitor," this designation was deprecated by women already in the profession. Many smaller provincial towns, however, followed the example of Birmingham, and appointed Health Visitors instead of Women Sanitary Inspectors. It was not until later that the Health Visitor was introduced into London, and in the following way:--
In the Metropolitan area (exclusive of the City) half of the salary of all Sanitary Inspectors is paid out of the County Rate, and their duties are defined in Sections 107 and 108 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891. As Medical Officers of Health and the public generally became more and more interested in the question of infant mortality, Women Inspectors were employed to investigate infant deaths, to visit houses where a birth had taken place and advise mothers on infant care, to manage milk depôts, to weigh babies, and to assist at infant consultations, and to do a great deal of work which hitherto had not been considered the work of a Sanitary Inspector. There was never any question as to the value of the work done nor of the efficiency with which it was performed, but the Local Government Board Auditor took the view that it did not come within the scope of the order of 1891, defining the duties of a Sanitary Inspector, and he refused to sanction the payment out of the County Rate of half the salary of those women who were engaged in Health Visiting work. In March 1905, the borough of Kensington solved the difficulty for itself by appointing a Health Visitor and paying the whole of her salary out of the Local Rate; but less wealthy boroughs felt unable to do this. It was work which the Sanitary Authorities wanted to undertake; it was work which the London County Council and the Local Government Board were desirous of seeing performed, but this technical difficulty stood in the way. It was overcome by the inclusion in the London County Council General Powers' Act of 1908, of Section 7, which empowered Sanitary Authorities in the Metropolitan area to appoint Health Visitors, and this enabled the London County Council to contribute half their salaries out of the County Rate. As a matter of fact, at the present time (November 1913) the whole of the salary of Health Visitors in London is being paid out of the Local Rate, as the Exchequer contribution account is completely depleted by the payment of the moiety of the salary of Sanitary Inspectors.