London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Battersea 1923
Report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea for the year 1923
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Maternity Hospital, 1923-1924. Total beds, 30; total cases, 382; percentage of beds occupied 49 per cent.
| Item. | Total. | Per Patient Week. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | s. | d. | |||
| Salaries | Medical | 325 | 0 | 8 | 4 | |
| Nursing | 472 | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Domestic and other | 464 | 0 | 11 | 11 | ||
| Provisions | 856 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Drugs and other Medical Requisites | 332 | 0 | 8 | 6 | ||
| Heating, Lighting and Cleaning | 376 | 0 | 9 | 8 | ||
| Laundry | 415 | 0 | 10 | 8 | ||
| Repairs and Renewals | Domestic | 266 | 0 | 6 | 10 | |
| Structural | 310 | 0 | 7 | 11 | ||
| Rent, Rates, Taxes and Insurance | 156 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Loan Charges | 1,458 | 1 | 17 | 4 | ||
| Miscellaneous | 185 | 0 | 4 | 9 | ||
| Gross cost | £5,615 | £7 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Income | Pupil Midwives | 306 | 0 | 7 | 10 | |
| Inmates' Payments | 1,504 | 1 | 18 | 7 | ||
| Other | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| Net cost | £3,795 | £4 | 17 | 4 | ||
The cost per patient has increased by 10s. 4d. per week as
compared with the previous year. The main causes responsible
for the increase are the increased expenditure on repairs and
renewals.
Decreases in the cost of heating, lighting and cleaning, and rates
and taxes are outweighed by increases in the other items shown
above, while the income from pupil midwives' and patients' fees is
less than in 1922.
District Midwifery Service.
The District Midwifery Service for the attendance on maternity
cases in their own homes, inaugurated at the close of 1921, continued
to make progress during 1923. The service is directed from the
Maternity Hospital, but accommodation has been provided for the
District Midwife and her pupil at the Town Hall, which is very
centrally situated for all parts of the Borough. The midwife's