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There are no beds attached to the Dispensary and although so
far nothing untoward has arisen, the removal of children to their
homes within a few hours after operation can only be justified by
necessity.
The premises are by no means ideal for the work carried on and
they do not lend themselves except at great cost to much improvement
or extension.
With the enlargement of the Out-Patients' Department of the
General Hospital, the Dispensary will probably be less patronised
as time goes on and for many reasons this Institution should join
forces or agree to absorption by the General Hospital. The latter
should then form the centre for all the Medical and Surgical work
of the District.
By a complete linking up of all the Agencies concerned—Hospital,
Dispensary, Orthopaedic Hospital, Child Welfare Societies and
Essex Cottage Nursing Association—a complete and satisfactory
service could be rendered to the Public at a reduced cost and with
an increased efficiency.
Whipps Cross Hospital, under the management of the West
Ham Guardians is just outside the borders of the District. The
Surgical and Medical work carried out there is similar to and
equally as good as that of the large Hospitals in London and no
difficulty has been experienced to get admission for patients from
this area.
The Essex Cottage Nursing Association. A Branch of this
Association has its quarters in the High Street Ward and is well
placed to serve a large working class population.
The resident Staff consists of a Sister-in-Charge—a qualified and
experienced nurse midwife, holding a certificate for massage and
electrical treatment—assisted by nine others, four of whom are
qualified Midwives.
The Association has been carrying on its work for the past 22
years and its inception was mainly the outcome of local effort.
The work carried out is mainly attendance on the poorer women
during confinement and the lying-in period, and nursing the sick
poor in their own homes.
The midwifery work is invariably well done and the Rules of the
Midwives Board are strictly observed. A very useful feature of this
work of the Association is the large amount of Ante-Natal visiting
undertaken—359 such visits were paid from July to December, 1925.
During the year 262 Midwifery cases were attended by the Midwives,
and 67 others in conjunction with a Doctor.