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General Provision of Health
Services.
Hospitals.—General Hospitals.—The arrangements set out in
the Annual Report for 1930 regarding the provision of general
and special hospital accommodation for the inhabitants of Southgate
remain unaltered. They still appear satisfactory.
The proposed enlargement of the Wood Green and Southgate
Hospital referred to in last year's Annual Report has not yet become
an accomplished fact, but it may be that, within the next twelve
months, these enlargements will see their inception.
Provision for Maternity Beds.—The agreement with the Royal
Northern Hospital and the Salvation Army Maternity Hospital
to admit Southgate mother's at reduced fees, continues to work
satisfactorily. As before, the North Middlesex County Hospital is
also being utilised by a proportion of our maternity cases.
When the re-building scheme at the North Middlesex County
Hospital has been completed, the accommodation for maternity
oases will be considerably extended. Thus, a long-felt need will be
met.
The question of providing a Borough Maternity Hospital for
Southgate residents has been one in which I have taken considerable
interest for some time. There can be little doubt that such an
institution would be a valuable asset to the maternity services of
the district. There can be even less doubt that the cost of providing
the service would be high. So long as the population of the Borough
is being adequately catered for in the matter of maternity beds, it
is extremely doubtful if such an expenditure could be justified.
Moreover, with an extended North Middlesex County Hospital, it
would appear that liberal maternity bed provision will, in fact,
be made. In the circumstances, therefore, it would seem wise to
postpone consideration of this question for the time being, but I
trust that the matter may be kept in mind for possible, future
action.
Isolation Hospital.—The following improvements were carried
out at the Isolation Hospital during 1937:—
Re-decoration of wards; purchase of additional furniture
and equipment, including oxygen tent, several steam bed-pan
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