View report page

25
ABORTION ACT, 1967
This Act, which came into force on 27th April 1968,
legalises the termination of pregnancy by a registered medical
practitioner if two such practitioners are of the opinion that the
continuation of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the
pregnant woman, or of injury to her physical or mental health or
that of any existing children of her family, greater than if
pregnancy were terminated, or if there is a substantial risk that if
the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental
abnormality as to be seriously handicapped.
Subsection 3 of Section 1 of the Act provides that, except
in the case of urgent termination of pregnancy to save the life of
or prevent gross permanent injury to the physical or mental health
of the pregnant woman, termination of pregnancy must be carried out
either in a National Health Service hospital or in a place approved
for the purpose by the Minister or Secretary of State for Health.
REGISTRATION OF NURSING HOMES
The Borough Council is the registration authority for
nursing homes under Part VI of the Public Health Act, 1936. No
homes were registered during 1968 but two were given authority for
an increase in the number of patients. At the end of the year
there were three registered nursing homes in the borough and these
provided a total of 70 beds for chronic sick and medical patients.
None provided any maternity bed3, but one of the registered homes
may receive up to three persons for treatment for the termination of
pregnancy, in accordance with Section 1(3) of the Abortion Act, 1967.
LICENSING OF NURSES' AGENCIES
The Borough Council is responsible for licensing of Nurses'
Agencies, under the Nurses' Agencies Act, 1957. These licences are
renewed on the 1st January each year. During the year two agencies
were licensed to supply nurses to private cases at home, hospitals
and nursing homes, and one agency's licence was withdrawn on request.
CREMATIONS
The medical officer of health, deputy medical officer of
health and a senior medical officer are recognised by the Home Office
and act as medical referees to the borough crematorium in Kingston.
During the year there were 1,447 cremations. None was
rejected and none was referred to the Coroner, although queries were
raised on various points in several cases.