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Wards each with nine beds and a Private Ward with two beds,
making a total of 20 beds. In addition there is an Isolation
Ward with one bed, and two Labour Wards. Prior to the
extension, the accommodation consisted of one General Ward
with nine beds, a Private Ward with two Beds, and Isolation
Bed, and one Labour Ward.
Apart from the Greenwich Maternity Home there are six
Municipal Maternity Homes in London, only one of which,
namely, Battersea, now has a larger number of beds than at our
Maternity Home, and taking the usual capacity figure of 75%,
and allowing a fortnight's stay for each patient, one arrives at
the capacity figure for the year of 390 patients. I feel sure
that, greatly appreciated as the Maternity Home has been in
the past, it has a long period of immense usefulness before it
and will play a very big part in the future in the saving of
infant life and in enabling the mothers of the Borough to have
comfortable and satisfactory confinements so that the impairment
of the health which so often follows confinements where skilled
care and attention is wanting, will be reduced to a minimum.
The actual number of cases admitted during 1926 was
256, and as the average duration of stay of each patient was
fourteen days, this gives an average number of patients throughout
the year of just under ten.
The fact that extensions were in progress influenced somewhat,
in my opinion, the number of applications received for
accommodation, and made it easier to ensure that, in spite of
the difficulties under which the staff were handicapped, no
patient had reasonable cause for complaint as to the care and
attention received.
Of these 256 patients, 17 were delivered by doctors, the
remaining 239 being delivered by the Matron and midwives at
the Home. Five infants were not entirely breast-fed while in
the Home for the following reasons:—(1) prolonged convalescence,
(1) family tuberculosis, (1) mother had grown-up
sons living at home, (1) insufficient milk, and in the remaining
case the mother, unfortunately, died through adherent placenta
with post-partum hemorrhage.
It is with profound regret that one has to report this
first maternal death in the Home since it was opened in March,
1922. The condition with which the Medical Officer in charge
of the case had to contend, however, could not possibly have