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58
was found, however, that the attendances at this latter clinic were
so large that an additional weekly clinic was begun. In addition,
one monthly session was held at Chadwell Heath, and at the
beginning of the present year a session was instituted at Rush Green
once a month.
At the Five Elms Out-Patients Department the Consultant
Gynaecologist paid fortnightly visits throughout the year, seeing
a total of 145 women who made 208 attendances.
110 cases were referred to hospital for confinement under the
Council's scheme of whom 76 were admitted to the East End
Maternity Hospital, 28 to Charing Cross Hospital under the care of
the Consultant Gynaecologist, 5 to Oldchurch Hospital and 1 to
Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford. The cost to the Council for these
patients, after the receipt of the patients' fees, amounted to
£712 9s. 2d.
43 women who attended were found to be not pregnant, and
there were 26 post-natal cases.
Of the 754 attendances, 222 women came of their own accord,
128 were referred by health visitors, 12 by medical practitioners,
12 by Oldchurch Hospital, 91 by neighbours and 142 by midwives.
The co-operation of medical practitioners and midwives is
highly desirable as we look to these ladies and gentlemen for their
assistance in our efforts to promote the welfare of expectant
mothers. May I refer to my remarks under the heading of
maternal mortality, wherein I stated the fact that 6 of the 7 mothers
who died as the result of childbirth did not attend an ante-natal
clinic. In all cases where a midwife sends her patient to an antenatal
clinic and the Medical Officer there decides that hospitalisation
is necessary, the midwife receives compensation from the CouncilIt
is also a condition of the payment of the midwife in necessitous
cases that the cases shall have attended an ante-natal clinic.
181 patients paid 6 or more visits, 126 attended once only,
98 twice, 68 thrice, 89 four times and 63 five times. These figures
include the attendances at the ante-natal clinics of the hospitals to
which the patients were referred, and also include those who had a
miscarriage or who left the district before confinement.
The fifth month of pregnancy was the commonest time this year
for the first attendance, 130 attending at this stage; the 6th month
with 114, and the seventh with 91 were the next most common.