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46.
The Maternity Home.
The Fulham Borough Council Maternity Home is
situated at 700, Fulham Road, S.W.6. It has ten beds
for patients, with an isolation ward containing one bed.
It is intended for the accommodation of women whose
home conditions are unsuitable for the purposes of their
confinements; and it should be understood that normal
cases only are admitted. It is a Home—not a Hospital.
Cases found abnormal when under observation at the
Ante-Natal Clinics may, if the abnormality can be rectified
during pregnancy, be admitted to the Home; if
otherwise, special arrangements are made for them, as
their circumstances may render desirable.
It has already been mentioned that close touch is
maintained between the Maternity Home and the AnteNatal
Clinics, as in addition to my being in charge of
both, the Matron, Miss Bustard, and the Assistant
Matron, Miss Denman, regularly in turn attend the
Ante-Natal Clinics. The advantage of this to the patients
has already been referred to: the advantage to the work
of the Home is, that the physical state of a large proportion
of the patients entering the Home is already known
to the nursing staff before their admission.
The minimum fee is £3 for the fortnight—the normal
duration of treatment in the Home. The highest fee
charged during 1929 was £9 10s. 0d. for the two weeks,
and the average was £4 10s. l0d. The net cost per
patient to the Council for the financial year 1929/30 was
£2 10s. 0d., equivalent to £1 5s. 3d. per week.
Nurses are trained at the Maternity Home for the
certificate of the Central Midwives Board.
The following is a record of cases admitted to the
Home during 1929:—
Cases admitted 182
Average duration of stay (days) 14
Number of cases delivered by:—
(a) Midwives 172
(b) Doctors 10