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Order made by them on January 8th, 1930, applying the provisions
of Section 55 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, to the
infectious disease known as chicken-pox for a period of six months
so far as Camberwell was concerned. The Minister of Health was
informed accordingly.
Ambulance Services for Maternity Cases.
In consequence of the transfer to the London County Council
of the Ambulances of the late Metropolitan Asylums Board and the
London Boards of Guardians, the County Council has had under
consideration various matters relating to the organisation and
utilisation of the combined ambulance service, and in this
connection the question has been raised as to whether the service
should be made available for (i) the removal of ordinary maternity
cases to hospitals or maternity homes at any hour of the day as
well as during the night ; and (ii) the conveyance of expectant
mothers, who so desired, to and from ante-natal clinics.
The transferred ambulances are available, when not required
for public purposes, for hiring or the conveyance of private patients
at a charge of 10s. for the removal of one patient from one place
to another within the administrative county. This charge includes
(when the patient is over 12 years of age), the services of a male
attendant and one friend is allowed to accompany the patient.
Additional charges are made for the conveyance of more than one
patient in one ambulance, for the services of nurses, for waiting
more than fifteen minutes, etc.
The County Council asked to be furnished with the views of
Camberwell Council, as maternity and child welfare authority, as
to the need in the borough for extended ambulance facilities for
maternity cases. If the Borough Council were of opinion that
such a need existed, the County Council asked whether, in the
event of their being prepared to consider as to providing an extension
of the present ambulance facilities, the Borough Council would
desire to avail itself thereof for maternity patients resident in the
borough on the basis of payment by it of charges representing the
cost of the service provided.
The Borough Council had, previous to this request, asked the
County Council to extend these ambulance services to all maternity
cases, free of charge, at any time during the day or night, and
had asked the local members of the London County Council to
support their views.
The request of the London County Council was fully considered
by the Council, and as a result thereof the County Council were
informed that this authority did not consider that they should be
called upon to bear any of the charges representing the cost of the
conveyance of maternity cases, the Council having already adopted
a resolution as set out in the preceding paragraph. So far as the