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The Chief Information Officer arranged for advertisements containing the particulars given on the leaflet
(i.e. general information about the City Council's free family planning service together with details of
available family planning clinics in the City) to be prominently displayed in the local press for two
consecutive weeks. Concurrently with the advertisements an article by a member of the Chief Information
Officer's staff appeared in the local newspapers outlining the development of the family planning service in
Westminster.
Further, the advertisement, reproduced in full, appeared in the September issue of "Information
Westminster" — the City Council's quarterly publication issued free to the public giving advice on civic
matters of interest and importance to residents.
The advent of the free service and the publicity given to it resulted, as had been predicted, in an
acceleration of demand. To meet this and to reduce the waiting time for appointments for new patients
three additional family planning sessions a week were started in the latter half of 1972. The trend continues
and extra sessions will be opened as and when these prove necessary. At the end of the year 16 family
planning sessions were being held weekly. In addition, a youth advisory service with counselling as the main
object is available at two centres; details of this service are set out in the next section.
The estimates for the financial year 1972/73 were prepared well prior to the conception and subsequent
approval by the City Council of a free family planning service to all Westminster residents. Calculations
indicated that a very substantial additional sum would be required to meet the extra cost of the free
service. The City Council approved this estimated expenditure giving a total provision for family planning
of approximately £62,000 for that financial year. A sum of £75,000 has been estimated for 1973/74.
For some years the City Council has given financial assistance towards family planning clinics run at the
Westminster, Middlesex and St. Mary's Hospitals and the Samaritan Hospital for Women. Payment by the
Council is made in respect of services provided to Westminster residents who attend the hospital clinics and
is in the form of a yearly grant or of sessional fees of the medical officer or nursing staff as appropriate.
A post-natal family planning service staffed jointly by the City Council and St. Mary's Hospital, Harrow
Road, W.9 for mothers confined in that hospital is run at the Maternal and Child Health Clinic, 283A
Harrow Road, W.9 with both authorities sharing the expenses. With the proposed reorganisation of the
National Health Service in April 1974 in mind. Professor Beard of the Department of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School approached the City Council for co-operation in a venture
to develop a comprehensive family planning service for hospital patients at St. Mary's Hospital Praed Street,
W.2 and at the Samaritan Hospital for Women, Marylebone Road, W.1. It was proposed that a combined
post-natal and family planning clinic should be run at the Praed Street Hospital on the same lines as that
currently operating at Harrow Road. The hospital would provide a registrar and the accommodation, and
the City Council would provide a medical officer, a clerk/receptionist and a nurse as well as the free supply
of the appropriate contraceptives. The International Planned Parenthood Federation, who were running a
weekly evening family planning clinic at the Samaritan Hospital for Women, indicated their wish to
withdraw their services at the end of 1972. It was proposed that this clinic should be taken over by the City
Council and free supplies provided.
The Medical Officer of Health strongly recommended co-operation with the hospital authorities on these
projects and the City Council approved. The arrangements at St. Mary's Hospital, Praed Street have proved
highly successful and the response from the patients so encouraging that a second weekly session has been
opened.
Grants continue to be made to the Middlesex and Westminster Hospitals.
A domiciliary family planning service has been in existence in the Paddington area of the City for many
years. Experience showed however that it was difficult in practice for doctors and nurses adequately to
carry out the necessary physical examination, fitting and instruction in the use of contraceptive appliances
in the homes of the patients concerned, particularly as these were often members of problem families.
Moreover, it was largely because of problems arising from their families and home conditions that they had
difficulty in attending the clinic. As an alternative, therefore, arrangements were made for health visitors to
visit these mothers to persuade them of the need for family planning and then to make such arrangements
as might be necessary — for example, by the provision of baby sitters and transport to take them to the
appropriate clinic for family planning advice and service, and return them home afterwards.
This arrangement has worked extremely well and this modified service has been extended over the rest
of Westminster.