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Employment of Midwives by the Council.
3.—We recommend that the 5 whole-time midwives to be employed directly by the Council be
appointed upon the following altered conditions of service :—
(1) That the first appointments be open to independent midwives already in practice in
Willesden, whether married or single, and whether fully trained general nurses or not ;
(2) That in the event of a sufficient number of efficient independent midwives already in
practice in Willesden not being available, the Council shall appoint as midwives candidates
who are—
(a) fully trained general nurses, and
(b) certified midwives, and
(c) unmarried.
(3) That the midwives appointed be required to live in such parts of the Borough as the Council
may determine, but not in a Home provided by the Council;
(4) That all midwives entering the service under the foregoing conditions be required to pass
the usual medical examination prior to confirmation of their appointment, and that they be
placed in established posts ;
(5) That midwives employed by the Council be allowed four weeks annual holiday ;
(6) That arrangements be made whereby a complete 24 hour period free of duty be allowed each
week, and one period of 48 hours (including the 24 hours previously mentioned) every four
weeks.
These appointments will require to be made by a Committee having the fullest possible knowledge
of the factors and difficulties to be overcome, and we therefore recommend, subject to the concurrence
of the Establishment Committee, that we be empowered to make the necessary appointments.
Salaries of Council employed Midwives.
4.—We have considered the salaries payable under the foregoing scheme and recommend :—
(a) That the salary of midwives employed by the Council who are not fully trained general
nurses be fixed at £255 ;
(b) That the salary scale for midwives who have qualified as general trained nurses be fixed
at £255, rising by annual increments of £15 to £345 per annum.
Maternity Nursing.
5.—The Minister of Health has not definitely required any alteration in the proposed arrangements
with the Willesden District Nursing Association for maternity nursing, but he has suggested that the
Council should consult with the Association on the question of maternity nurses'salaries and the fees to
be charged to patients. Salaries of the nurses employed by the Association are fixed by the Queen's
Institute, to which the Association is affiliated, and the Association desire to pay the same scale to the
maternity nurses to be employed for the purposes of the scheme. On the basis of such salaries the cost
of maternity nursing to the Council for the first year of working would be £1,615 instead of £1,715, as
allowed in the Council's original scheme, which included provision for the payment of the maternity
nurses at the same rate as midwives. We recommend that the Council agree to the Association
adhering to the scale fixed by the Queen's Institute.
Scale of Fees to Patients.
6.—Consequent upon the adoption of the foregoing salary scale for maternity nurses, the maximum
fee for maternity nursing will be £4. This charge will be scaled down according to the economic circumstances
of the patient, and would be subject to review in the light of experience of the working of the
Act and the costs involved.
Submission of Amended Scheme to Minister of Health.
7.—We recommend that the scheme as amended in this report be transmitted to the Minister of
Health for approval and that immediately upon receipt thereof, advertisements of the vacancies for
midwives be issued and notice given to independent midwives as provided by the Midwives Act, 1936.