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11
MATERNITY HOSPITAL.

Although the cases dealt with in the last two years are less in
number than in the four preceding years this is by no means due
to any decrease in the applications for admission. The recognised
accommodation of the hospital is 22 beds, and it is necessary,
therefore, to limit the number of cases which are booked for
admission. It has been found from past experience that if 44
cases are booked for each calendar month the accommodation at
the hospital is utilised to the best advantage and without the risk
of repeated overcrowding. Even so there were as many as 35
patients in the hospital at one time during the year. The average
duration of stay in hospital was 15.9 days.
With the object of allocating the available accommodation
to the most deserving cases, a new rule was introduced by the
Committee, by which it is necessary for applicants for admission
to the hospital to have been resident in the constituent districts
for a period of not less than twelve months previous to the expected
date of confinement.
In the report for the previous year reference was made to the proposal
to erect a new Maternity Hospital in which 44 beds would be
available. Throughout the year considerable time and thought
have been devoted to the preliminary work of preparing detailed
plans and specifications with the result that it has now been
possible to invite tenders for the construction of the new hospital.