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135
the report of last year. The total number of women admitted and
confined in the hospital was 49. Of these 16 were from the Centre at
Westbourne Street, 15 from Bessborough Street, 11 from Frith Street,
and 7 from Page Street (Westminster Health Society). The confinements
were normal except in two instances. A patient admitted in emergency
in a late stage of labour had Caesarean section performed for obstructed
labour ; although the child was saved the mother died from exhaustion.
The other case had also Caesarean section and both mother and child
recovered satisfactorily. The average stay in hospital for all cases was
12 days, and universal satisfaction has been expressed for the care and
treatment received.
Ambulance Service for Maternity Cases.
Consideration was given to a communication from the London County
Council on the subject of their Ambulance Service, inviting the views
of the City Council, as the Maternity and Child Welfare Authority, as to
the need in the City for extended facilities for maternity cases. The
extended facilities referred to the conveyance of non-urgent cases between
8 a.m. and 11 p.m., and also the conveyance of expectant mothers to
and from ante-natal clinics. It was suggested that the City Council
should enter into an agreement for the payment of costs in conveying
these non-urgent cases in the day time. The need for ambulances for
such non-urgent cases has not so far been experienced in the City, and
the Council therefore deferred entering into any such agreement, expressing
at the same time the view that ambulances should be free for all maternity
cases and that the service should be on similar lines to those provided for
infectious cases.
The London County Council now controls the ambulances of the old
Metropolitan Asylums Board and also those of the Guardians, in addition
to its own services. It provides ambulances, free of cost, for the conveyance
to hospitals of:—
Parturient women, if the case is one of urgency, whether from the
home, place of business or elsewhere, on the application of a
qualified medical practitioner or certified midwife, provided
that either a doctor or midwife accompanies the case; and
Non-urgent cases of parturition, between the hours of 11 p.m. and
8 a.m. if letters of admission to maternity hospitals are
produced, it being sufficient in such cases for a female friend
to accompany the patient.