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15
Provision of Maternity Beds in Hospitals.—The Council
adopted the following scheme by which maternity patients may be
admitted to the Mothers' Hospital, Clapton.
That the Council pay the sum of one guinea in respect of each
necessitous case admitted from the Borough.
A necessitous case is defined as one who, by reason of poverty
or other causes, is unable to pay for the treatment received, an
amount equal to one-half the average cost per patient of the maintenance
and administration charges. Last year the cost per inpatient
was £8 16s. 5d.
During the year the Council paid the sum £4 4s. 0d. in respect of
cases admitted to the Hospital under the above arrangement.
Home Helps.—a Home Help is a person competent to do
domestic work who goes into a home to do house work and cooking
and to take care of the children, when the mother is laid aside by a
confinement.
It must be understood that a Home Help does not perform the
duties of a District Nurse or Midwife; and that her duties are limited
to domestic work and have nothing to do with the birth of the child.
A scheme for providing Home Helps was inaugurated in 1931,
The payment to be made was fixed at five shillings for an eight
hour day, exclusive of food, and the Home Helps on the panel
are under the supervision of the Medical Officer and the Health
Visitors. During the year two women of approved character were
retained on the panel. Their services were utilised on two occasions
by necessitous cases, and the fees amounting to £5 were paid by the
Council.