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areas for the payment of agreed sums, in instalments or otherwise, to cover liability
in respect of the fees of medical practitioners called in under the provisions of section:
14 of the Act of 1918.
The Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1926, which came into force on 1st
July, 1927, requires inter alia that the birth of every still-born child shall be registered
Any certified midwife who was in attendance at the birth or who has examined the
body of the child is required to give a certificate, for production to the Registrar for
the sub-district in which the birth takes place, to the effect that the child was not
born alive.
Notifications by midwives of intention to practise during the year 1927 numbered
823; of intention to practise for specific periods less than a year, 26; and of having
acted in specific cases, 21.
During the year the Council reported to the Central Midwives Board that one
prima facie case of malpractice, negligence or misconduct on the part of a certified
midwife had been established. The Board found certain of the charges to be proved
but postponed sentence with a view to further consideration on receipt of reports
from the Council as to the conduct and methods of practice of the midwife at the
end of three, six and nine months. In seven other cases of infringements of the
rules of the Board which did not appear to be sufficiently serious to warrant submission
to the Board, the midwives were cautioned by the Council to observe strictly
the rules of the Board in their practice.
From time to time women whose names have been removed from the Midwives
Roll make application to the Central Midwives Board for the restoration of their
names to the Roll. The rules of the Board require that such applications must be
supported by the certificate of the local supervising authority of the district in
which the applicant was resident at the time when her name was removed from the
Roll and, if at the time of her application, she be resident in another district, then
by the certificate of the local supervising authority for that district also. Generally
speaking, when a midwife is removed from the Roll, the local supervising authority
entirely loses touch with her and is not in a position to give a certificate which can
be of value. Two such cases were considered during the year, and in the absence
of any knowledge of the applicants since the removal of their names from the Roll,
the Council felt itself unable to give certificates in support of the applications.
Owing to the difficulty of assessing the sums to be recovered from patients,
their husbands or other persons liable to maintain them in respect of the fees of
medical practitioners called in by midwives to the patients, the Council, in 1921,
adopted a scale of assessments graduated according to net income, after allowing
a deduction in respect of each maintainable child or other dependant. From
1st April, 1927, to 31st March, 1928, the Council's expenditure under section 14 of
the Act of 1918 was approximately £4,060, the sums recovered during the same
period amounting to £966 approximately. During the year 1927 the Council
suspended 19 midwives from practice for short periods to prevent the spread of
infection, and awarded compensation amounting to £126 10s. 4d.
Courses of lectures and practical demonstrations in ante-natal and post-natal
work and in general midwifery were arranged during the autumn and winter
sessions.
Under section 5 of the Act of 1902, as amended by section 2 of the Act of 1918,
any adverse balance in the accounts of the Central Midwives Board is apportioned
between the councils of the several counties and county boroughs in proportion to
popidation at the last census, and the Council's proportion for the vear 1927 was
£528 12s.
Proceedings as indicated below were taken by the Council during 1927 with
regard to smoke nuisance from railway and road locomotives, and some proceedings
were also instituted by the sanitary authorities in respect of smoke nuisance from
Smoke
Nuisance.