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67
Maternity Bed Accommodation.
In the past Leyton Corporation has had arrangements with
Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, and with the Mothers' Hospital,
lapton, for the provision of maternity beds for Leyton mothers.
From time to time the Leyton Maternity and Child Welfare
Authority has considered the possibility of providing a Maternity
Home in the Borough, but the declared policy of the Ministry of
Health is that it is undesirable to provide small maternity homes as
separate units, and that new maternity bed accommodation should
be associated with general hospitals on grounds of efficiency as
well as to facilitate specialist treatment of non-obstetric conditions
associated with pregnancy and childbirth.
In Leytonstone No. 10 Hospital Group area there is no provision
for maternity beds, and I suggest that a Hospital Group without
such provision cannot be regarded as an effective unit; and it
would be interesting to learn whether there is any other Hospital
Group in the country without provision for institutional midwifery.
Situated as it is in the Leytonstone No. 10 Hospital Group
area, Whipps Cross Hospital would be an ideal place for the establishment
of a maternity unit. If maternity accommodation and
staff were provided there, it would be possible to institute a most
desirable co-ordination of hospital and health centre (ante-natal
clinic) premises, staff and facilities in this area. Such a co-ordinated
arrangement would ensure that the doctors responsible for the
ante-natal supervision of expectant mothers would be those who
would be responsible for their subsequent confinement in hospital.
The local health authority has two well-equipped ante-natal clinics
where members of the medical staff of the obstetric unit could
conduct the ante-natal supervision of Leyton expectant mothers ;
and it is generally agreed that such joint use of clinic premises
would overcome many present difficulties and further the establishment
of a co-ordinated hospital and health centre system.
Child Welfare Clinics.
On page 66 will be found a Table giving detailed information
regarding the attendances of infants and children at the child
welfare clinics during the last three years. It will be seen that
during that time the total annual attendances at both Health
Centres have increased from 17,915 in 1946 to 21,389 in 1948—an
increase of 20 per cent.