View report page

69
of (1) a doctor with special obstetric experience, (2) midwife and (3)
the appropriate equipment. If a blood transfusion is considered
essential, and no relative being a suitable donor, arrangements are
made with the British Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service. A midwife
has the right to call out the Emergency Service, but only if it is
found impossible to obtain a doctor locally and the emergency is
grave. In connection with this service the County area has been
zoned into districts and Hampstead, Hammersmith, St. Mary Abbots
and Paddington form one district. The Council at its meeting on
December 22nd agreed to make use, where necessary, of the service,
and to pay the sum of £5 5s. in respect of each patient attended.
In their letter outlining the procedure proposed for working the
service the County Council pointed out that they had no power to incur
expenditure in connection with the provision of this service, any such
expenditure having to be borne by the Metropolitan Borough Councils
under their Maternity and Child Welfare powers in Part XII of the
Public Health (London) Act, 1936. The cost of the service was fixed
at £5 5s. in respect of each occasion on which it is utilised, and the
County Council asked to be informed if the Borough Council desired
to make use of this service, where necessary, and whether it agreed to
the payment of £5 5s. in respect of each patient attended. As
previously stated, arrangements already existed in the Borough for
the services of a consulting obstetrician to be available in any case of
difficulty or abnormality, but the new emergency service was not
intended to conflict in any way with the existing facilities. There
were two matters in connection with the scheme which it appeared to
the Borough Council required further consideration, viz.:-(i) the
actual arrangements in connection with the appointment of a doctor
with special obstetrical experience, who it was intended could form
part of the ambulance unit; and (ii) the precise arrangements in connection
with the zoning of districts and the division of the service
between hospitals within those districts.
The Maternity and Child Welfare Committee were of opinion
that the proposal generally would be likely to prove an excellent
addition to the maternity services available, although it was not
anticipated that any very considerable use of any such scheme would