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18
The names and qualifications of the 4 midwives are given in
the front of this Report under the heading of "Public Health Staff."
It has taken some time to get over the many practical problems
that have arisen, and indeed continue to arise, but shortly after
the inauguration of the scheme, the major matters quickly adjusted
themselves, and the service is now fitting in smoothly with the
general work of the Department. At its initiation a circular letter
was sent to all the medical practitioners in the area explaining the
the service, and your Medical Officer of Health outlined the main
provisions of the Midwives Act, 1936 at a meeting of the Romford
and District Medical Society.
There are in addition to the above, 5 midwives in independent
practice in the District, and the 4 Distinct Nurse Midwives to whom
reference has already been made. Seven midwives, resident outside
the area, also undertook cases within the area.
CLINICS AND TREATMENT CENTRES.
Maternity and Child Welfare.
1. Ante-Natal Clinics.
The services of the Council available for Expectant Mothers
remain the same, and 1 am pleased to be able to record that increasing
advantage is being taken of such services.
There is no doubt but that the scheme of Municipal Midwives
offers a partial explanation for the larger attendances, but, on the
other hand, it is gratifying to know that a number attended on the
recommendation of friends who had already passed through the
Clinics, and who felt that the benefits obtained should be more
widely known. I can also say that when an expectant mother has
once been to our centres we find her there again on her own initiative
for a subsequent pregnancy. This speaks highly of the work
done, and of the sympathetic and individual attention that is given.
On the receipt of Circular 1621 of the Ministry of Health,
dated 6th August, 1937, dealing with "Prevention of Blindness,"
I had occasion to recommend to the Public Health Committee the
need for expert examination of the fundus of the eye in cases of
failure of reading sight during pregnancy, and where the presence
of albuminuria gives rise to the suspicion of retinal changes. As a
result of this we now have an arrangement with the Essex County
Council whereby such cases can be referred to an Ophthalmologist
for expert advice and treatment. The Ophthalmoligist concerned
is Mr. G. A. Jamieson, M.B., B.S., D.O.M.S., who attends
periodically at the Combined Treatment Centre at Oldchurch
Hospital.