“MORE DOCTORS TO SAVE BABIES."

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18013, 25 November 1926, Page 9

“MORE DOCTORS TO SAVE BABIES ."

MORTALITY RATE STILL TOO HIGH, AUSTRALIANS SAY. PROPER CARE WOULD SAVE MANY MOTHERS. tSpccial to the “ Star. ’) MELBOURNE, November 10. Figures showing how the death rate of intants and mothers was influenced by the amount of medical attention they received, and the social conditions under which they lived, were quoted by Miss Muriel lieagney to-day during a deputation from the Women s Organising Committee of the Australian Labour Party to the Minister for Health (Dr Argyle). The deputation requested that increased community services be established to provide medical attention for mothers before and after child-birth, and for the child later on, and urged that the existing facilities be decentrali&ed. Dr Argyle, while supporting many of the contentions of the deputation, said he was averse to turning existing baby welfare centres into base hospitals, and he differed from them on the policy of carrying out the facilities, as political views to some extent entered into consideration.

Miss lieagney said that a certain amount of treatment was provided by the public hospitals, but they felt that it was not the best way of dealing with the matter, and the deputation would urge that the services be established on a municipal or district basis. The Royal Commission on Public Health, in its report to the Federal Government, urged that the services be decentralised.

High Death Rate. The death rate Of infants under the age of one year in Victoria was cigner tnan anywnere else in the Commonwealth. In 1924 the latest figures available of the death rate of the Commonwealth were 57.U8 per IUUU birtn*, but for Victoria it was 01.32. In Melbourne city the rate was 9.12 per cent, Colli ngwood 9.37, Fitzroy 8.2, Richmond 6.98, Malvern 3.91, Camberwell 4.91 and Brighton 4.38, Those figures showed how the social conditions of the people influenced the death rate of the children.

“ Our death rate of mothers,” Miss Ilcagnev said, “is appalling. In 1923 5839 women died in childbirth —3»61 married and 1978 unmarried womeh.' In 1919 the rate was: Married women 1 in 219, unmarried women 1 in 123. There again you get the relationship and accessibility of medical services influencing the death rate. We can assume that the married woman seeks medical services and lives in superior conditions. The unmarried mother usually does not «sek advice until the last moment.

“ In our own Women's Hospital last year there were 2680 confinements, but only two deaths. Yet out of 1399 emergency cases there were 26 deaths.”

There were 675.000 school children under the control of the London County Council last yesr, and Victoria had about 282,000. In Englar.d they had 25 full-time doctors, 66 parttime doctors, 55 dentists and 325 nurses, all looking after the welfare of these children. Victoria had 8 fulltime doctors, 4 part-time, 5 dentists and 2 nurses. Intermediate Hospital*. The recent report of Dr M’Eacham was entirely separate from the matters the deputation had brought forward. He recommended that intermediate hospitals should be established, but she personally thought that he tried to serve the interests of the private medical practitioner rather than establish community services. Dr Argyle: That is not a fair assumption. Miss Heagney: He was the servant of the private medical practitioner. Intermediate hospitals will not touch the people we are trying to belp--the working classes —when their families are young. Dr Argyle said that Miss Ileagney’s request was practically that at each of the baby welfare centres there should be attached full-time medical officers to treat all babies that attended, making the centres base hospitals, present Government, though he realised it was the aim of the Labour Party to socialise all medical services— That was opposed to the policy of the a proposal which he would oppose. When their hospital policy was carried cut in its entirety there would be a cordon of hospitals around the metropolis, but that would take time. Cause of Mortality. The high mortality among infants was associated, to a large extent, with the question of housing. An intermediate hospital, particularly for maternity rases, meant an extension of those services, so that every woman, whether she were rich or poor, would have every possible comfort and attention, to carry out a perfectly normal function. In addition it would give training to doctors and mid’wives. To-day there were not the facilities for training doctors and midwives, lie believed that all children should lxborn in an institution, and was always opposed to childbirth away from them “ You misunderstand Dr M’Eaeharn, ' Dr Argyle said. “ There is no vnan in this world who has so consistently \ placed the welfare of the patient, first and foremost. He is the inspector of 2000 hospitals in America, and he has so lifted the welfare of the patient, not the doctor, that the efficiency of these hospitals has been increased by 75 per cent. The world owes him a debt of gratitude. He did not come here at his own request. lie was invited by the Victorian Government. 1 can assure you that his work will be of immense benefit to the State.” Dr Argyle said that he would give earnest consideration to the requests 1 to the deputation, as they had opened i up several serious questions. lie would j consider them on their merits, and according to his particular political i views. With the deputation he agreed } that the saving of the lives of mothers and infants was of paramount importance.