View report page

154
In Circular 1569 the Minister stresses the importance of ensuring
that as many as possible of the midwives at present in
practice should be absorbed into the new service, and suggests that
local authorities—when making their first appointments of salaried
midwives—will naturally desire to give preference to the most
efficient of the independent midwives practising in their areas.
I suggest that Midwife A be required to surrender her certificate
under Section 5 of the Act. She will then be entitled to compensation
amounting to five times the average net annual emoluments from
her practice during the preceding three years.
In the event of your Council deciding to require Midwife A
to surrender her certificate, only two independent midwives resident
in the Borough are available for private practice. These two
midwives are possessed of good qualifications and experience;
and, in the opinion of your Inspector of Midwives and of medical
practitioners with whom they have worked, they are competent
midwives.
I suggest therefore that these two Midwives be given favourable
consideration when you are making the three municipal appointments.
Under Section 3 of the Act it shall be the duty of the Authority
to fix a scale of fees payable for attendance as midwives and as
maternity nurses, and to recover the fees except where remitted
in whole or in part on grounds of necessity.

I suggest that the full fee chargeable in respect of the services of
any midwife directly employed or subsidised by the Council be fixed
at 40s. per case, whether in respect of attendance as midwife or
maternity nurse. Details with regard to arrangements for payment
could be fixed at a later date.