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position of knowing that they should not have their confinements at home,
of knowing too that they will probably be admitted somewhere at the
last moment, but not knowing where to, and not having the absolute
assurance that they will in fact, be accepted. All that they can be told
is that they must wait until they go into labour, then summon their
doctor who will approach the Emergency Bed Service with a view to
finding a bed at some hospital, all a most distressing experience for a
woman in labour.
Accommodation for the Aged. There are 38 beds for geriatric
patients at the Edgware General Hospital; 52 at Roxbourne Hospital,
32 at Oxhey Grove Hospital, 14 at Stanmore Cottage Hospital, 23 at
Orme Lodge, 24 at Glebe House and 26 at St. Elizabeth's Hospital
which is administered by the Barnet Group Hospital Management Committee.
Contractual arrangements exist for 15 beds at Springbok House
which is provided by the National Corporation for the Elderly, 9 at
Grosvenor Nursing Home and 4 at the Avenue Nursing Home. In 1958
contractual arrangements were made for 30 beds at St. Andrews Hospital,
Dollis Hill. This arrangement not only increased the number of available
beds, but provided a third hospital to which patients can be admitted
direct from their homes, the other two being Edgware General Hospital
and Roxbourne Hospital. To meet the needs of the area then there are
now 267 beds scattered over a wide area in eleven different establishments.
Dr. Binks, the Geriatric Officer, is of the opinion that the district is 100
beds below the regional average which itself is one of the lowest in the
country, and 330 below the national average. Of the 697 persons admitted
to these beds, 300 or 43 per cent were discharged to their own homes;
70 or 10 per cent were discharged to voluntary homes and private nursing
homes, and 26 or 4 per cent to local authorities homes.
Mental and Mental Deficiency Hospitals. Sufferers from mental
illness from this area are admitted mostly to Shenley Hospital. In the
main, mental defectives from Middlesex go to Harperbury Hospital near
St. Albans; to a lesser extent to Leavesden Hospital, Abbots Langley.
There are three "designated" (observation) wards in general hospitals
(North Middlesex, Central Middlesex and West Middlesex hospitals) to
which patients may be admitted for a short period for observation whilst
the general question of and the necessary formalities for their admission
to a mental hospital can be dealt with.
NURSING HOMES
These are private establishments which provide accommodation for
varying types of patients. Section 187 of the Public Health Act, 1930,
requires that these homes shall be registered with the local health authorityThe
responsibility for registering and supervising them rests with tne
Health Committee of the County Council. Applications for registration
should be made to the Clerk of the County Council.
At the beginning of the year, there were 13 homes registered for
174 beds, of which 5 were for maternity cases. No homes were closed,