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PERSONAL HEALTH SERVICES
THE MATERNITY SERVICES
In 1964 the Ministry of Health had directed maternity hospitals in the London area to undertake
responsibility for admitting all women from a defined area who needed hospital confinement.
Acceptance of this area responsibility had gone some way towards the solution of the maternity bed
problem, which at that time had been very acute.
On 1 April 1965, the whole of Camden, Islington and parts of Haringey and Barnet.-were
included in the Catchment Area II of the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. The
following hospitals provided a total of 384 maternity beds for the Borough of Camden:-
Alexandra Maternity Home
Charing Cross Hospital
City of London Hospital
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital
Queen Mary's Maternity Home
Royal Free Hospital
University College Hospital
Whittington Hospital
A Maternity Liaison Committee has been set up under the chairmanship of Miss Jocelyn
Moore, Consultant Obstetrician at the Royal Free Hospital and consists of representatives of the
hospitals, general practitioner obstetricians and the local health authorities included in Catchment
Area II. This Committee which meets twice a year considered a scheme for planned 48-hour discharge
of mothers from maternity hospitals to their own homes. 269 mothers were nursed at home
under these arrangements. A special working party considered a policy for distribution of social
bookings throughout the hospitals of the catchment area to ensure that every woman needing hospital
confinement on social grounds could be admitted.
A Bed Bureau was setup at the Whittington Hospital as part of the Admissions and Doctors
Inquiry Service to record maternity bookings and to find hospital maternity beds for all those needing
them on medical and social grounds. Medical priority for admission is always confirmed by a
hospital consultant, and a home visit is paid by a domiciliary midwife before mothers are referred
to the hospital on social grounds.
DOMICILIARY MIDWIFERY SERVICE
On 1 April 1965, the Health Department took over the three domiciliary midwives previously
directly employed by the former London County Council, each of whom covered the geographical
area of about one mile radius from her home. The remainder of the domiciliary midwifery service
was provided by three district nursing associations, Metropolitan, Hampstead, and Kilburn and
West Hampstead associations, on an agency basis.
On 1 October 1965, the Council assumed responsibility for the direct administration of
the domiciliary midwifery service. One of the first tasks was to promote better integration of the
domiciliary midwifery service with maternity services of the Borough as a whole. Midwives now
work a night-duty rota which gives each midwife nine nights off duty each fortnight. The supervisor
of midwives is available by telephone to give help and advice to doctors or midwives.
There were 446 home confinements attended by the Council's midwives, who are expected
to see that all mothers booked for delivery at home also book a general practitioner obstetrician to
give maternity medical services. Ten general practitioner obstetricians from six practices in the
Borough carry out ante-natal care with the midwives at six of the Council's clinics.
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