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examination, but a disappointing number were recorded as having
attended local authority clinics in 1965. After post natal examination,
all mothers were invited to attend for a cervical cytology test
and 436 attended for this examination between October (when
cytology clinics were opened) and December, 1965.
Liaison with hospital staff has continued throughout the year,
and a health visitor attends each week at one of the ante-natal
consultant clinics at St. Alfege's Hospital.
Regular monthly meetings are held at the British Hospital
which are very well attended by health visitors, midwives and local
authority doctors and by the hospital medical and nursing staff.
Interesting obstetric cases are discussed and explained by the
medical staff. Every four months the meeting is taken by the
department's staff who are able to talk about their work and the
health services in general.
Several lunch-time meetings have been held at which films
were shown and discussions took place and to which practitioners
and general practitioner obstetricians were invited, with a good
response. These meetings have been useful to all medical and
nursing personnel and more have been requested.
Early Discharges—Planned early discharges took place from
St. Alfege's and Hainault Hospitals. In the case of mothers
who could spend or needed to spend only 48 hours in hospital
but who, for medical reasons required hospital confinements,
domiciliary visits were made before delivery so that the suitability
of home conditions for the nursing of a post-partum mother
could be assessed. A few unplanned early discharges took place
when mothers decided to leave hospital soon after delivery
(often because they could not relax away from their other young
children) or when an emergency arose and the hospital bed was
required for another mother. In such cases, it is always desirable
that a report on home conditions should be sought from the
Department before the mother leaves hospital. Some 378 mothers
were attended by midwives on discharge before the 10th day.
Emergency Obstetric Units—These units are based at the
British Hospital for Mothers and Babies, St. Alfege's, Lewisham
and Dartford Hospitals, and are manned by hospital staff. They
are available to any medical practitioner or midwife who is in
need of additional assistance at a domiciliary confinement, either
before a delivery at home or before unplanned removal to
hospital. These units were used 16 times during 1965.