View report page

61
MIDWIFERY SERVICE
(Section 23)
The problem of recruiting new midwives continues to be a main anxiety in the Service. We
have been fortunate in appointing four new midwives during the year, one of whom is now accommodated
in a municipal flat rented by the County Council, specifically for a midwife, from the
Tottenham Borough Council. It was a disadvantage to recruitment that this flat was not available
for a part of the year as the resigning midwife (with two young children) had several delays and
setbacks in finding other accommodation.
Every year there are some changes in the staff to which attention is drawn in the report, but
a special tribute should be paid to the midwives who have been with us for many years and who
continue to give loyal and devoted service. They form the backbone of the service and have a
very high standard of skill and dependability. They seem to be at their best during periods of
special pressure through which every midwifery service passes, working tirelessly and cheerfully
until the stress is over.
All the midwives now take part in ante-natal sessions at the centres whenever their duties
allow. In future it is hoped to arrange for a midwife to be present at general practitioners' antenatal
sessions, but it is envisaged that this will only be possible where there will' be a sufficient
number of patients to make this a justifiable use of the midwife's time.
Co-operation between midwives and general practitioners continues to be excellent.
Especially the long service midwives have come to know the doctors in their district very well
and can work truly as a team.
The minimum number of days after delivery on which the midwife must visit the patient has
been reduced from fourteen days to ten days, by the Central Midwives Board. This is generally
considered quite a safe alteration to the usual practice and has relieved the midwife from some
unnecessary duties. However, there is still much pressure of work on the midwife. Each one
of our staff has done more deliveries than the number recommended.