[Report 1956] / Medical Officer of Health, Denbighshire County Council.

Denbighshire (Wales). County Council. no2004062613.

Date:: 1956

Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1956] / Medical Officer of Health, Denbighshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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PART III. General Provision of Health Services CARE OF MOTHERS AND YOUNG CHILDREN Tn previous reports reference has been made to the excellent provisions made by the County Council many years ago, for the Care of Mothers and Young Children and undoubtedly the benefits of such foresight are being repeated even at present, but changing conditions altered what was virtually an unified service to the present three separately administered parts. Consequently, it has been necessary to constantly review the services to ensure the utmost co-ordination, and with this aim, meetings of Consultants. General Medical Practitioners and Local Health Authority Staff were convened, at wlfich difficulties were discussed and proposals for closer co-operation and co-ordination were considered. In May, 1956, the Ministry of Health Circular 9/56 together with a memorandum from the Standing Maternity and Midwifery Advisory Committee of the Central Health Services Council on the subject of ante natal care were received. The resultant meetings and discussions concurred in great measure with the existing arrangements as well as the changes instituted in 1955. An Ante-Natal card was evolved which would provide a compre- hen.sive record of Ante and Post Natal examinations as well as information concerning the confinement. It was agreed that this case record should be retained by the patient’s midwife who would be responsible for its production on the appropriate occasions. Following the joint meetings of Hospital, General Medical Practitioners and Local Health .Authority representatives, it was agreed that the General Medical Practitioner should decide whether the mother should be confined at home or in hospital, having in appro])riate cases consulted the other services concerned. It is hoped, in this way, to ensure that no mother passes through the .Ante-Natal iieriod without full supervision. Midwives have l)een instructed to advise all mothers being confined at home to book a doctor, either their family doctor or one who is on the Local Obstetric List. Difficulties do arise occasionally in this direction, but the overriding governing principle must be the wel- fare of the patient. Many doctor's do not undertake domiciliary midwifery; others are willing but have few opportunities to do so. It is, therefore, desirable that the limited domiciliary cases should be concentrated as far as possible in the hands of those who have met the fairly stringent requirements of the Local Obstetric Sub- Committee of the Executive Council.