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 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Willesden]
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105
APPENDIX H. 16th March, 1938.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
Sums Payable per Annum to the Willesden District Nursing Association.
| Service. | Payments in accordance with existing agreements or otherwise. | Proposed payments. | Amount in dispute. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Government Act, 1929. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | |
| Nursing of miscarriage cases and complications of pregnancy and the puerperium | 40 | 0 | 0 | – | 40* | |||
| Maternity nursing including the ante-natal visits in connection therewith | 140 | 0 | 0 | – | ||||
| Nursing of children under 5 years of age | 120 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 0 | 0 | – | |
| Midwives Act, 1936. Maternity Nursing— 5 Midwives for attendance on women in their own homes as Maternity Nurses in childbirth and afterwards as may be necessary | 1,615 | 0 | 0 | 1,615 | 0 | 0 | – | |
| Public Health Act, 1936. Nursing of infectious cases | 78 | 15 | 0 | 78 | 15 | 0 | – | |
| £1,993 | 15 | 0 | £1,813 | 15 | 0 | £40 | ||
* Mrs. Acworth asks that if full grant of £40 is not paid that it will not be reduced to a sum less than
£25 or £30.
Maternity Nursing and Midwifery.
The Scheme prepared under the Midwives Act, 1936, requires the Willesden District Nursing
Association and the Willesden Borough Council each to employ 5 Midwives.
The following table indicates the work to be carried out by these bodies since the scheme became operative on 31st October, 1937:—
Net Booking of Cases.
| W.B.C. | W.D.N.A. | |
|---|---|---|
| From 31-10-37 to 26-2-38 | 214 | 104 |
| Cases booked prior to 31-10-37 to be dealt with before 31-12-37 | Not included in Scheme. | Not included in Scheme. |
| Cases booked prior to 31-10-37 to be dealt with on and after 1-1-38 | – | 27* |
| 214 | 131 |
* The W.D.N.A. retained a sum of £22 3s. in respect of these 27 cases and are due to pay an equal sum to the W.B.C.
Trend of Midwifery. The following table shows the trend of midwifery:—
| Year. | Domiciliary cases attended by Midwives. | Domiciliary cases attended by Doctors. | Births in Hospitals and Nursing Homes. | Total Births notified. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | 515 | 1,174 | 1,110 | 2,799 |
| 1932 | 457 | 997 | 1,220 | 2,674 |
| 1933 | 532 | 776 | 1,357 | 2,665 |
| 1934 | 610 | 680 | 1,436 | 2,726 |
| 1935 | 589 | 568 | 1,706 | 2,863 |
| 1936 | 646 | 516 | 1,745 | 2,907 |
| 1937 | 760 | 465 | 1,906 | 3,131 |
The Council in preparing their scheme under the Midwives Act, 1936, had only the figures
up to 1935 on which to base their calculations. They assumed the round figure of 600 per annum as
doctors' cases and they considered it likely that two-thirds or 400 of these would engage Maternity
Nurses. In respect of this number the W.D.N.A. were required to employ 5 midwives and receive
£1,615 per annum from the Council.