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the midwife is acting as such, though not where the operation was found
necessary for a condition for which the midwife was required under the
rules of the Central Midwives Board to summon a doctor.
Home Helps: Owing to the number of home helps on the Council's
panel being insufficient to meet the demand, it was agreed that assistance
would be given towards payment of those helps not on the panel but
who had been engaged by the patient, subject to the receipt of a satisfactory'
report on her services by the midwife. During the year 162
cases were attended by home helps under the Council's scheme. During
the financial year 155 cases were attended by 45 helps. Of these 21
attended only one patient, 7 two, 4 three and 3 four. Two attended
5 cases each, and another two 12 each. The other helps attended 6, 8,
11, 13, 14 and 15 cases.
The Ministry of Health Circular 58/44 authorised the engagement
of home helps on a part-time basis, where the need arose not from a
confinement but because of the presence of small children in the home.
This authorisation will be of use when there is a sufficiency of available
help, but little use can be made while such difficulty is being experienced
in finding help in confinement cases.
Consultant Services: During the year consultants were summoned
to 13 patients, 6 in labour, one ante-natal and 6 post-natal. Of those
in labour 5 were due to delay or obstruction. Operative interference
proved necessary in two; the remaining patient was one suffering
from eclampsia. The single- ante-natal patient was suffering from antepartum
haemorrhage. Transfusion was carried out in each of the three
cases of post-partum haemorrhage; two of the post-natal patients were
suffering from puerperal pyrexia.
7 of the patients had been delivered in their own homes and 6 in
local maternity homes.
Institutional Confinements.
Number of Confinements: 1,105 births occurred in registered
nursing home in this district. 452 births to mothers from outside districts
which occured here took place in nursing homes, 6 in private houses.
Of these 1,105 confinements 390 were conducted by private practitioners.
Notifications were received of 1,477 births to Harrow mothers,
which took place outside the district. Of these 1,262 were from hospitals
and 181 from nursing homes. Of the patients confined in hospitals
outside the district 586 were delivered at Redhill County Hospital, and
424 at Bushey Maternity Hospital.
Of a total of 3,351 births, 1,221 occurred in the patients' own homes,
653 in local nursing homes and 1,477 in hospitals or homes outside the
district. Some 2,130 or 63 per cent, therefore, of the confinements took
place in institutions either inside or outside the district.
During the year 13 patients were admitted to a London Hospital
under the Council's arrangements.