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72
from the Mothers' Hospital, Royal Free Hospital and St. Mary's
Hospital, 11 each from Elizabeth Garratt Anderson Hospital, the
Middlesex Hospital and the Royal Northern Hospital, 10 from the
Central Middlesex County Hospital, and smaller numbers from
25 other hospitals.
Notifications were received of the occurrence of 98 live births
and 3 still births in Nursing Homes outside the area, many of these
being in homes on the confines of the district.
The following numbers relate to statistics obtained from the
reports of the keepers of nursing homes and of midwives, of births
wbich occurred during the year in Harrow.
1. No. of births which occurred in registered Nursing Homes:—
(a) attended by a doctor 652
(b) attended by a midwife 110
(c) attended by a midwife acting as maternity nurse 329
2. No. of women, other than those included above, who were
delivered in their homes by:
(a) a midwife 722
(b) a midwife acting as maternity nurse 515
Of the, roughly, 2,900 births then, some 1,400 occurred in the
the patient's own home, some 700 in local nursing homes and 800
in hospitals or homes outside the district. Some 1,500 or over 50
per cent., therefore, of the confinements took place in institutions,
either inside or outside the district. Of this number 191 were
admitted to County Council Hospitals, namely: 176 to Redhill
County Hospital, 10 to the Central Middlesex Hospital, 3 to the
West Middlesex Hospital and 2 to Hillingdon County Hospital.
191 is about 6 per cent. of the total confinements. The accommodation
in the County Hospitals has proved so deficient that it was only
the exceptional case that was even referred to hospital in an
attempt to obtain admission; this in spite of the fact that from
April 1st the County Council accepted financial responsibility
for any patients admitted, thereby relieving local councils of this
charge.
Further efforts were made during the year to obtain the necessary
approval for the erection of the maternity home by the
Wembley and Harrow Councils. In February a deputation was
received by the Ministry of Health when the case was presented by
representatives of both councils. As, however, it appeared to the
Ministry that the Council's case was based on a deficiency in the
services proposed to be put into effect by the County Council, they
were invited to make a suitable representation to the County
Council on those points. Details of the proposals of the County
Council were obtained, of which the following extracts are a