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43
In addition to the above, the Metropolitan District Nursing Association also undertook
the nursing of various complications arising in connection with 41 maternity cases and 21
cases of tuberculosis, and to these 1,342 visits were paid.
Home Helps.
This term is used to describe women who have received a certain amount of training
in domestic work, including the care of young children. They are provided for necessitous
families where the mother is incapacitated on account of sickness or child-birth.
The management is in the hands of a Voluntary Committee, on which the Council is
represented by two members.
An annual grant of £150 is made by the Borough Council for use in respect of
maternity cases only.
Two permanent " Helps " were employed throughout the greater part of the year, and
nine temporary " Helps " for emergency cases.
93 cases were dealt with during the year, 79 being maternity and 14 sickness cases.
The services rendered by the "Home Helps" are very valuable and are much
appreciated. The work is also increasing in volume, doubtless due to the supervision exercised
by the Hon. Secretary, who is keenly interested, and who is ably assisted by a competent and
experienced Visitor.
The importance of the work performed by "Home Helps" was mentioned recently in
the Memorandum on Maternal Mortality issued by the Ministry of Health, in which it was
suggested that Local Authorities should consider the desirability of making this provision in
districts where it was not already available.
Midwives.
In the Metropolis, the supervising authority for midwives is the London County
Council. According to figures supplied by that authority, the number of midwives who, in
1930, had notified their intention to practise in St. Pancras was 45. Only 12 of this number
are engaged in private practice, the remainder are on the staff of various hospitals and
institutions in the Borough.
Private midwives are not subsidised by the Borough Council, but a subsidy is paid
for each approved necessitous case attended in the patient's home by midwives on the staff of
certain hospitals and by midwives employed by the Maternity Nursing Association,
The subsidy is not paid in cases where "Maternity benefit" is payable under the
National Health Insurance Act.
Midwifery.
There are a large number of institutions, situated either within or near the Borough,
which provide midwifery attendance, either at the patient's home or by admission as
in-patients.