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 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Willesden]
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18.—
| 1,180 | 1,379 | |
| (2) Cost of Midwives employed directly by the Council. | ||
| Annual repayment of loans :— | £ | |
| One House. £4,000 at 3i% for 30 years | 216 | 216 |
| Alterations and repairs : | ||
| £1,000 at 3i% for 10 years | 120 | 120 |
| Furniture and equipment : | ||
| £2,000 at 3J% for 10 years | 240 | 240 |
| Heated garage accommodation: | ||
| £500 at 3£% for 30 years | 28 | 28 |
| Salaries and Allowances | ||
| Superintendence of Midwives | 188 | 218 |
| Seven midwives (resident) (£105—£15—£195) | 735 | 1,365 |
| Uniform allowances—Seven midwives at £12 per annum | 84 | 84 |
| Car allowances | 364 | 364 |
| One Cook-Housekeeper (resident) (£80—£10—£100) | 80 | 100 |
| Three maids (£60—£10—£80) (resident) | 180 | 240 |
| Holiday and sickness domestic relief | 30 | 30 |
| Uniform—Four domestic staff at £5 | 20 | 20 |
| Food | 360 | 360 |
| Lighting, heating and laundry | 300 | 300 |
| Rates and taxes | 100 | 100 |
| Telephone | 80 | 80 |
| Repairs to houses | 100 | 100 |
| Replacements of furniture, ironmongery, table and household linen | 30 | 50 |
| Disinfectants, drugs, etc. | 100 | 100 |
| Refresher courses | 20 | 20 |
| Insurance—Third party | 10 | 10 |
| Clerical assistance and investigations | 100 | 100 |
| Printing, stationery and postage | 10 | 10 |
| Superannuation and State Insurance | 175 | 215 |
| Garden and window cleaning | 60 | 60 |
| Contingencies | 100 | 100 |
| Gross Cost | 3,830 | 4,630 |
| Less : Sums now paid for necessitous cases of midwifery £350 | ||
| Sums paid for training of pupil midwives 80 | ||
| 430 | 430 | |
| 3,400 | 4,200 | |
| Cost of one midwife acting as maternity hospital ambulance nurse including salary and emoluments, uniform and superannuation | 283 | 376 |
| £3,117 | £3,824 | |
| £600 | £600 | |
Maternity Nursing.
19.—The Council have to secure that whole-time salaried midwives shall be available for maternity
nursing. Maternity nurses act under the supervision of a doctor, and, as estimated above, maternity
nurses to deal with 400 cases per annum require to be available. Maternity nurses may be employed
either through a voluntary association or directly by the Council. A maternity nurse, although she
must be a whole-time salaried servant of the employing voluntary association or Council, need not
devote all her time to maternity nursing. As a maternity nurse requires to spend nearly as much time
on a case as a midwife the number of maternity nurses required should be on the basis of one for about
80 cases, allowing for holiday duty, sick leave, suspension in case of infection and attendances at
refresher courses. In all then, five maternity nurses would be required for the 400 cases.
20.—Present arrangements as to maternity nursing.—Existing district midwives may do maternity
nursing but in fact do little—on the average only about six cases per annum each. The only organised
arrangements for maternity nursing in Willesden at the present time are carried on under the auspices
of the Willesden District Nursing Association. The number of maternity cases nursed by this
Association during the past five years in Willesden is shown in the following table which also gives the
number of such cases in respect of which direct payments were made by the Council. Such direct