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38
Last year a favourable opportunity to obtain these beds
arose. The Willesden Council terminated their agreement for
the admission of cases to Park Royal Hospital, and our Council
came to terms with the Middlesex County Council. The agreement
came into operation on April 1st, 1931. The Council pays to the
Middlesex County Council at the rate of £3 per week for each person
admitted. The Child Welfare Committee of our Council assesses
the expectant mothers according to means. When the expectant
mother makes application, she is referred to the pre-natal
clinic for examination by Dr. Bell. If Dr. Bell adjudges her to be
normal and straightforward the expectant mother is referred to
Park Royal Hospital. Dr. Turner the Medical Superintendent
has a pre-natal clinic every Monday morning and the expectant
mother attends there as and when required. Between April 1st
and December 31st, 50 were admitted, and at the end of the year
there were 36 more waiting to be admitted in 1931. The payments
and receipts are as follows:—
Payments to M.C.C. Receipts of Fees.
£ s.d. £ s. d.
2nd quarter 49 14 2 21 15 0
3rd quarter 116 3 5 67 0 0
4th quarter 138 0 0 72 13 0
In the second quarter of the year 8 mothers were admitted
and their total stay in the hospital was 109 days or an average of
little over 13½ days each. In the third quarter 20 mothers were
admitted and their total stay was 278 days or an average of nearly
14 days.
We shall have to deal with a larger number of patients in
the coming year, in spite of more unemployment in the district.
There is no doubt as to the popularity of the scheme. We shall
have to meet a changed attitude on the part of the expectant
mother respecting her confinement. Formerly there was a distinct
bias in the mind of the expectant mother in favour of a confinement
in her own home. This may be true still of the older
expectant mother, but the newly married expectant mother distinctly
favours a confinement in an institution. This attitude is
becoming more general throughout all ranks of society, and is due
to many and varied causes. In the case of the mothers in our
district who are admitted to Park Royal Hospital, the two chief
causes are want of accommodation in the home and a desire for
freedom from worries during the confinement. The lack of accommodation
in the home has been referred to, but there have been
many applications where the home accommodation is fairly satisfactory.
In these cases the mothers naturally wish to have as few