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5. HEALTH CLINICS
There are 18 health clinics in the Borough situated with the aim that every mother
should be within pram-pushing distance of one of them. The range of the Council's
services for the mother and child provided at these clinics includes sessions for
ante-natal and post-natal care, child welfare, immunisation and vaccination, family
planning, dental care, speech therapy, chiropody and physiotherapy.
The health clinics are staffed by a medical officer, dental officer, health visitors
and clinic nurses. In addition, they form the centre from which is carried out the
domiciliary work of the surrounding district, namely, home nursing and midwifery
and the visiting of children at home by health visitors.
Of the Borough's 18 clinics, seven are purpose built, the remainder being
conversions, carried out with varying success. Seven clinics are scheduled for
replacement in the next 10 years, and I have already given my views on their
replacement.
Detailed accounts of the various services provided at clinics are given either below
or as part of other sections of this report. A complete timetable of clinic sessions
appears as Table 2.
ANTE-NATAL AND POST-NATAL SESSIONS
The arrangements provided for ante-natal care in this country at present are
sometimes found confusing. Thus a mother may have her baby at home or in
hospital and in each case her ante-natal care may be undertaken either by her family
doctor or by one of the Council's medical officers at a health clinic—four possible
combinations.
In practice in Ealing the majority of mothers either have hospital confinements
with the ante-natal care undertaken by their family doctor, or have home confinements
with the ante-natal care shared between the family doctor and the midwife who will
undertake the delivery.
The lack of sufficient obstetric beds in the Ealing district necessitates very careful
consideration by the medical officer of the medical and social factors in each case
before any patient can be booked for a hospital or home confinement. As, however,
a well-established relationship exists between the clinic staff and the obstetric units
in the area and the criteria for allocation of hospital beds is well understood by all
concerned, few booking difficulties are encountered. Once the decision is made, the
patient is booked at a hospital, or with the midwife for delivery, and continues to
attend the ante-natal sessions at regular prescribed intervals. All expectant mothers
having their first babies are invited to take part in the ante-natal classes organized
by the health visitors as a preparation for childbirth and in infant care. These are
very popular and help to dispel the fear of having a baby. Following delivery,
mothers return to the clinics for their post-natal examination as an alternative to
going back to the hospital.
The figures for attendance in 1965 were as follows:—
2,209 patients attended the clinics for their ante-natal care
401 patients attended the clinics for their post-natal care
820 expectant mothers attended the ante-natal classes.
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