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16
admission to these homes. Without necessarily agreeing with those who
see increased efficiency in proportion to the increased size of a unit, it can
be appreciated the private nursing home is managed under very real
difficulties, and is a relatively uneconomical establishment, so that with
the developing competition of a growing hospital service it is doubtful
if it will long survive.
At present the authority responsible for registration is at times
placed in an embarrassing situation in that it might be known that there
is much in connection with the home which is felt is not entirely right,
yet the faults fall far short of those which might justify the cancellation
of the registration. The remedy in such cases would seem to rest in the
hands of the local medical practitioners who could decline to attend
any of their patients who chose to arrange to be admitted to such a home.
Another type of difficulty at a maternity home arises from the fact that
a number of medical practitioners attend their patients, each being
interested only in his own patient and none responsible for seeing to the
taking of those steps which should be taken in the interests of other
patients or others who might be admitted. This difficulty could be
overcome if each home were required to appoint a practitioner as its
medical advisor.