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28
This increase in the work necessitated the institution of an
extra Ante-Natal Clinic which is held on Thursday morning at the
Borough Maternity Hospital, the existence of which has been more
than justified by the amount of work undertaken at it.
I am thus now responsible for the three Ante-Natal Clinics
held at the Battersea Maternity Hospital, on Tuesday afternoon,
Wednesday and Thursday mornings. To these last two clinics all
cases expecting to be confined in the Hospital come during their
last two months of pregnancy, thereby increasing the work enormously.
On the whole, cases have attended the clinics at an earlier
period than formerly, 453 attending before the sixth month, 356
between the sixth and eighth months and only 74 after the eighth
month. As I pointed out in my 1925 report this is to be encouraged,
as it permits of an examination of the patient's general health
being made earlier in pregnancy when treatment can be effectively
instituted for any deviation from the normal. Thirteen patients
with cardiac disease have been examined in the last year, and
advice given or treatment instituted, while in ten cases a further
examination of the chest by a specialist in pulmonary diseases was
recommended.
The Tuesday Clinic shows a great increase in numbers, 691
new patients having attended during 1926 with 791 attendances
in all. This is largely due to the increased number of patients
attending for blood tests, the crowded condition of the ordinary
Ante-Natal Clincs making it impossible to take specimens at these
times.
Out of 658 Wasserman Tests done, only 10 or approximately
1.5 per cent gave a positive reaction. There has been a considerable
decrease in the number of patients attending the Clinic complaining
of prolapse, vaginal discharge, etc., this being due, I think, to the
very large number of primiparae in whom such symptoms are not
so common.
The Wednesday and Thursday Clinics have already been
mentioned. They have been well attended with 87 Sessions showing
an average attendance of 25 and 404 new patients.
At the Friday Clinic at the Latchmere Centre, in spite of the fact
that since about August, 1926, all cases attending this clinic and
expecting to be confined in the Battersea Maternity Hospital,
have been referred to the Hospital after the seventh month, the
total attendances were 708 as against 630 the year before. The
new patients were 198 in 1926 and only 148 in 1925, and the average
attendance 14 per clinic as against 13 in the previous year, showing
how this clinic has increased in size.
With this report on the purely ante-natal or out-patient part
of the work, must be placed an account of some of the results
obtained in abnormal cases and others in patients entering the
Hospital from the Clinics, and here I append a resumé of some of
these which the Matron has kindly drawn up for me, showing the
results.