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into by the Maternity and Child Welfare Committee it was found that
Nursery Classes existed at the following:— Netherwood Street School,
Kingsgate Road School, Fleet Road School, Beckford School, Hampstead
Parochial School.
Midwifery and Maternity Services.
Domiciliary Midwifery Service.
The question of the establishment of a domiciliary midwifery
service was considered during the year in consequence of the receipt
of a communication from the London County Council with reference
to the outline proposals for a scheme under the Midwives Act, 1936.
Under the scheme the London County Council proposed to make
arrangements with voluntary organisations providing domiciliary midwifery
services, for the employment by them of whole-time certified
midwives, and by the County Council itself employing such midwives
as might be necessary, and also to invite the Metropolitan Borough
Councils, as the authorities administering the Maternity and Child
Welfare Act, to co-operate so far as they were concerned in the provision
of certain complementary services. It was indicated that grants
were proposed to be made to the voluntary organisations in respect
of the midwifery services, but that any payments which the Metropolitan
Borough Councils continued to make under the Maternity and
Child Welfare Act, 1918, would be deducted. The London County
Council proposed to employ a number of whole-time salaried midwives
for Area C, which included Hampstead and six other Boroughs and
the City of Westminster. The Metropolitan Boroughs' Standing Joint
Committee communicated with the Borough Council pointing out that
the Borough Councils with their maternity and child welfare staffs
could control, as agents for the County Council, the salaried midwifery
service in their own districts more efficiently than could be done by
the County Council, and pointed out that it appeared to be illogical that
the maternity and child welfare authorities should be almost entirely
eliminated from the extension of the scheme which was intended to
improve the maternity services of London. The Standing Joint Committee
submitted alternative proposals, providing for the County