London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Willesden 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Willesden]
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Maternity Hospital-
Bookings .—The following table shows the bookings year by year for hospital confinement under the Council's schemes since hospital provision was first made by the Council for such cases:—
Table No . 2.
| Year. | No. of Confinement Cases Booked. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 (part-year) | 99 | Maternity Pavilion at Municipal Hospital opened. |
| 1919 | 267 | |
| 1920 | 444 | Restrictions began to be placed on bookings. |
| 1921 | 335 | |
| 1922 | 266 | |
| 1923 | 140 | Municipal Hospital Pavilion closed, 30th April, 1923. Cases sent to Park Royal Hospital. |
| 1924 | 99 | |
| 1925 | 146 | |
| 1926 | 220 | |
| 1927 | 221 | |
| 1928 | 272 | |
| 1929 | 334 | |
| 1930 | 402 | |
| 1931 | 535 | Willesden Maternity Hospital opened, 14th February, 1931. Cases no longer sent to Park Royal Hospital. |
| 1932 | 544 | Bookings limited to relieve pressure on Hospital accommodation. |
| 1933 | 550 | |
| 1934 | 666 | Willesden Maternity Hospital extended, 29th December, 1934. |
| 1935 | 942 |
During 1935, 216 applicants for confinement in the Willesden Maternity Hospital were unable
to be booked for the reasons set out below:—
Table No. 3.-—Applications for Booking Refused.
No beds available 130
Not resident in Willesden 77
Will not have had 3 months' residence in Willesden prior to expected
date of confinement 8
Unable to pay fee 1
216
The following Table shows the fees at which the 942 cases were booked:—
Table No . 4.
| Fee. | No of Cases. | Fee. | No. of Cases. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £15 | 0s. | Od. | 2 | £5 | 0s. | Od. | 18 |
| £12 | 10s. | Od. | 1 | £4 | 10s. | Od. | 28 |
| £9 | 10s. | Od. | 1 | £4 | 0s. | Od. | 32 |
| £9 | 0s. | Od. | 1 | £3 | 10s. | Od. | 35 |
| £8 | 10s. | Od. | 1 | £3 | 0s. | Od. | 55 |
| £8 | 0s. | Od. | 4 | £2 | 10s. | Od. | 54 |
| £7 | 10s. | Od. | 3 | £2 | 0s. | Od. | 93 |
| £7 | 0s. | Od. | 4 | £1 | 10s. | Od. | 102 |
| £6 | 10s. | Od. | 5 | £1 | 0s. | Od. | 92 |
| £6 | 0s. | Od. | 10 | Free | 384 | ||
| £5 | 10s. | Od. | 17 | ||||
The average fee per case is approximately £1 12s. 7d.
Hospital Confinements.—During 1935, 871 women were confined in the Willesden Maternity
Hospital. In addition to these a number of Willesden mothers were confined in institutions outside
Willesden, 523 births of Willesden residents being notified from such outside institutions—144 from
Queen Charlotte's Hospital, 45 from Queen Mary's Maternity Home, Hampstead, 61 from St. Mary's
Hospital, 19 from University College Hospital, 23 from Middlesex Hospital, and smaller numbers