N.Z. MATERNITY HOSPITALS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25304, 2 October 1947, Page 6

N.Z. MATERNITY HOSPITALS

«ST, HELENS SYSTEM NOT UP TO DATE ” JOINT STATEMENT BY MEDICAL BODIES

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, October 1. The. contention that.the St. Helens maternity hospital system was not up to date was advanced to-day in a joint statement by the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association and the New Zealand Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society. “It has always be’en the opinion of the two bodies that the best maternity service is one in which a competent doctor is actually present at* all confinements, and. is not merely op call for emergency cases, as obtains in St Helens Hospitals,” ssys the statement. “Modern maternity attendance calls for even more than the primary essential of aseptic care. The actual presence of a qualified medical practitioner at a confinement makes possible certain refinements in. delivery practice that a 4 midwife alone is not in a position to ’ use. The presence of a doctor ensures more satisfactory measures of paffi relief, and it is an additional safeguard in meeting sudden, unsuspected emergencies which occasionally endanger the mother of a child.”

The statement was issued in support of the attitude of the Wellington Hospital Board, which objected strongly to the Government’s proposal to erect an additional 100 closed maternity beds on the Sf. Helens system and aboffsh the existing “open” maternity annexe at the Wellington Hospital.

Personal Attendance “It is the opinion of the society,” continues the statement, “that the great majority of women desire the attendance of a doctor of their own choosing and one who has supervised their case throughout. The value of intimate, personal service cannot be over-emphasised, “At the present time St. Helens Hospitals are operating mainly on the basis of midwife attendance at a confinement only, with expert obstetrical staff on call in case of emergency. This staff would be the first to admit that there are occasional inevitable delays in answering calls which do not oedur in personally attended cases, for which proper provision can be made in advance. “The preference for open hospitals is shown clearly by the leaser demand for beds at St. Helens Hospitals in the last seven years. The demand b’y expectant mothers for open beds has been so great that in some cases they have been unable to obtain them and have been diverted at the last moment to St. Helens. It is greatly regretted that the Minister of Health (Miss M. B. Howard) refused to permit doctor attendance for these cases when she was approached by the Wellington Hospital Board.’Misgivings About Future The Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society 14 had grave misgivings about the future of public maternity hospital provision in the four main centres, particularly Wellington and Christchurch. It denied the suggestion that “closed” hospitals were necessary for the training of midwives —an opinion which seemed to be held only by the Health Department—and stated that the medical teaching staff had not at* any time been consulted on this point. “It is the hope of the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society that the Government’s intention in this respect will be abandoned,” concludes the statement. “The council of the B.M.A. is strongly of the opinion that the expansion of the closed maternity hospi-, tai system would be a retrograde step. The public interest can be served only by extending the proved facilities 6f the public and private, hospitals which allow prospective mothers personal medical attention during the difficult days of childbirth.”