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(e) Hospitals. Public and Voluntary:—
Maternity.—There are no maternity hospitals in the district. Arrangements
have been made:—
(i) With Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, for the reception
of difficult cases and cases where the home conditions are
unsuitable.
(ii) With Queen Charlotte's Hospital, for the reception of
cases of puerperal sepsis.
Children.—There is a children's ward of five beds at the Woodford
Jubilee Hospital.
Infectious Diseases.—Cases of infectious diseases in Wanstead and
Woodford, which required removal, were taken to the Waltham Joint
Hospital, under the control of the Waltham Joint Hospital Board.
Since November, 1936, the Waltham Joint Hospital Board have been
willing to admit, in addition to Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria, cases of the
following diseases:—
Complicated cases of Measles, Whooping Cough, Influenza and
Pneumonia;
The acute infectious diseases of the nervous system, Meningitis,
Poliomyelitis and Encephalitis;
Typhoid and Paratyphoid Fevers;
Dysentery, Erysipelas and Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
Smallpox.—The London County Council are prepared to receive cases
of Smallpox from this area into the London Smallpox Hospital so long as
they have sufficient accommodation available.
2. Maternity and Child Welfare:—
(1) Midwifery and Maternity Services.—On July 1st, 1937, our midwifery
services, in accordance with the Midwives Act, 1936, passed into the
control of the Essex County Council, after having been in existence under
the control of the local Council for more than twenty years.
No changes have been made in the personnel of the service. We have
three Municipal Midwives working in the district. Except for ante-natal
visiting they devote the whole of their time to midwifery.
The number of cases attended by them was as follows:—
(a) As Midwives 162
(b) As Maternity Nurses 31
Number of visits paid by these Midwives:—
(a) Number of cases 193
(b) Ante-natal visits 1113
(c) Nursing visits 2734
Instead of the fixed fee which was paid in the past, patients now are
assessed according to a scale fixed by the County Council. This scale
entails the filling up of a somewhat elaborate form and necessitates
additional clerical work in the office.