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work for the previous year, together with a statement of
accounts for that year relating to such work, and a copy
of the Auditor's certificate thereon, and also furnishes the
Council from time to time with such other information
relating to the Maternity and Child Welfare service provided
by the Association and the expenditure thereon as the
Council may reasonably require.
It is further provided that the Council shall not, except with the
consent of the Minister, terminate or make any reduction in the
annual contribution payable to an Association in respect of any
service on the ground that any of the foregoing conditions are not
fulfilled in the case of that service.
In several instances supplementary grants have since been
approved by the Council increasing the block grants to provide
additional facilities.
The Maternity Home
The Council's Maternity Home, at 210 Knight's Hill, has maintained
its successful career during the year, and 383 cases were
admitted to the home—a decrease of 30 below the previous year's
total. Since its inception in 1926, 5,005 women have been admitted
to the home with only four fatalities, which is a striking tribute
both to the home and to the value of the ante-natal work carried
out at the voluntary welfare centres. The one death which occurred
during the year was due to acute inversion of the uterus and the
verdict at the inquest rightly exonerated the staff from any blame.
The admission rate is sensitive in a marked degree to the assessments
made by the committee of management. There must inevitably be
some variation in the charges made and whenever the general
average is raised there is a drop in the number of applications for
admission, resulting in more empty beds and a higher cost per
patient week, since the overhead charges are largely independent
of the number of beds occupied.