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(a) Institutions.
The Institutions within the Borough were:—
The Beckenham & Penge Joint Maternity Hospital.
Two private Nursing Homes, registered under the Public
Health Act, 1936.
The Beckenham Hospital which took a few maternity cases
but only under certain special conditions.
The demand for institutional accommodation for confinements
has been steadily increasing for a number of years. The existing
housing situation and the difficulty in securing adequate help in the home
undoubtedly contributed to the high percentage of institutional births
in recent years.
Home Helps.
The Council was empowered to engage suitable women to assist
in the housekeeping and domestic work of homes where the mother
was confined in her own home; in certain cases the Council paid all
or part of the fees for this attendance.
A total of 169 applications were recorded for enquiry, many more
were refused because it was impossible to get sufficient women to undertake
domestic work. Advertisements and posters were used to get
staff and the engagement of full-time "Helpers" was found to be unsatisfactory
because it was difficult to use the afternoons. Help was
given in 48 maternity cases and 75 cases of illness for from 15-47 hours a
week for 2—4 weeks according to the need.
It is evident that there is a real need for this service, but it is
difficult to organise and in many cases the applicant only "wants someone
to do the rough work." This is not the function of the "Home
Help"—her job is to keep the home running whilst the mother is unfit,
to do essential work, shopping and sometimes cooking.
It is an important job—well worth doing—and every woman who
does this work can be assured of the satisfaction which comes from
giving help in cases where it is urgently needed.
3. Supervision of Mothers and Infants.
(a) Post-Natal Clinics.
Arrangements were made for the examination of mothers after their
confinements. These examinations were carried out by the Assistant
Medical Officer.
During the period under review, 20 of these examinations were
carried out.
In addition, all mothers who engaged midwives for their confinements
were invited to attend the Obstetric Consultant's Clinic for
final examination and the correction of any abnormality caused by
pregnancy and childbirth.
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