Report of the Departmental Committee appointed by the Lord President of the Council to consider the working of the Midwives Act, 1902.
- Great Britain. Midwives Act Committee.
- Date:
- [1909]
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Report of the Departmental Committee appointed by the Lord President of the Council to consider the working of the Midwives Act, 1902. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.
300/336
![19 May 1909.] Mr. B. P. Totjng. [Continued. 6722. Tou think that the members of the Central Midwives Board should have then- expenses paid, do you?—Theii' out-of-pocket expenses, just as we had under the London Coimty Coimcil. That is all. 6723. Do the London County Council pay the expenses of members who attend?—I always had my travelling expenses. 6724. To attend meetings of the County Council?— Always. 6725. Do you think there is any difficulty now with regard to attendance at meetings of the Board?—I think sometimes. I have heard more than one member of the Board say that. 6726. Most of you are resident in London?—Most of us. Sir William Sinclair is not, nor is Dr. Ward Cotisins. 6727. You suggest that members should be paid their out-of-pocket expenses for attending meetings of the Board or committees ?—Yes, both. 6728. Have you formed any opinion as to what addition to the expenses it would cause ?—Very little indeed. If you take the attendances of members you will find that they do not amount to very much. 6729. You do not suggest fees for attendance, do you ?—Certainly not. 6730. Out-of-pocket expenses only ?—Yes. I think it is important, too, to deal with the attendance at the meetings of the Board; for instance, if you look at those attendances (handing in list) you will find there are three country members and three town members, and if you compare them with regard to the attend- ances you will see that there is sometimes a difficulty, in that it throws the whole of the work upon the London members. 6731. What is your quorum?—Foiu-. 6732. Is that not rather too much for a Board of nine members, to have a quorum of four?—No, we always get a quorum. The work is very important, and you ought to have foiu- members for a quorum. 6733. Do you not think, the more impoi-tant the work, the more efficiently it is done by a few persons ? ■—Yes, as a rule, and I think four would do it. 6734. Would not three do it as well ?—We discussed that, and Mr. Heywood Johnstone and myself drew up the Rule, and thought othei-wise. 6735. You have been a member of the Board from the commencement, have you ?—Yes. 6736. Now to turn to another subject, do you believe in there being any probability of a lack in the supply of midwives next year ?—No, I do not think so, from what I can see, if they are properly distributed. 6737. It is a question of distribution?—Yes, that is. the only question. 6738. I suppose the law of supply and demand in big towns really regulates their supply ?—Yes. 6739. And it must be left to organisation to do it in the i-ural districts ?—Yes. 6740. You are apparently in favour of subsidising ? —No, I am not in favour of it. I should like to do without it. I only say that in extreme cases it might have to be introduced. 6741. But cannot provision always be made by sending a midwife from a centre to the area where she may be wanted, in sparsely peopled districts ?—Yes, but it is so difficult in these rm-al districts to deal with it in that way. There is not sufficient work for a woman to live on. 6742. Not in sparsely peopled districts ?—But it is those districts that I am speaking of. 6743. But I am suggesting that she should be sent from a centre into those districts when she is wanted ? —But the distances would be considerable in these rm-al districts. 6744. Quite so, but there is no reason why she should not be sent 20, 30, or 40 miles, and stay there for a few days when she is wanted, because surely it is known beforehand that her sei-vices will be needed at a given date ?—You cannot always tell. 6745. But I am talking of normal cases, and surely in such cases it is more or less possible to predict when the patient will require attention ?—Yes, but sometimes they are out of their reckoning a month or six weeks. I think some of the midwives shoiild have bicycles to get over the gi-ound. 6746. They do have them in many cases, but I want to press upon you that as a matter of fact the system of subsidising wo\ild always be obviated by proper organisation?—I believe that is dealt with in my precis. 6747. But I do not think you quite realise what could be done by organisation ?—I beheve it could be dealt with if properly arranged. I am only thinking of extreme cases. 6748. Have you any observations to make upon the system of training ?— No, I do not think there is anything to be said iipon that. 6749. Do you think the county coimcils do enough in regard to their contributions for training ?—I think in London they do, but I do not know whether they do in many of the rural districts. 6750. You do not beheve there is any difficulty in getting a sufficient number of women to px-esent themselves for training, do you ?—No, but a good many of them wiU give it up, in the same way as the two women I have mentioned. They have had enough of it, and they would rather go out as nui'ses, becaiise it pays better. 6751. But a good many nurses take the Central Midwives Board certificate because they find it pays better ?—Those two are on the roU, and their mother too, and they find nm-sing pays better. 6752. In regard to the exercise of the penal juris- diction of the Central Midwives Board, I should hke to ask you whether you do not think some more power might be given to deal with these cases, in the fii-st instance, by the local supeiwising authority?—Yes, I think that might be so. 6753. Of course, as you know, the local supervising authority is only vested with the power of suspension in connection with infection ?—Yes. 6754. Would you hke to see that power extended, so as to cover charges of malpi'actice, and so on ?—I think it should be extended. If you do not pay these poor creatures something when they are cited to appear before the Central Midwives Board, I think they are placed at a considerable disadvantage. 6755. In attending meetings of the Board to ajiswer for themselves ?—Yes. Take the case of Lancashire or Yorkshire, or cases like those. If they cannot come up and get defended it is extremely hard upon them. We employ a barrister and sohcitor, and we pay for witnesses, while, on the other hand, these poor creatures, if they have not got money, have to go without that help. 6756. But do you not believe that substantial justice might be done by the local supervising authority deahng with the case first ?—Yes. 6757. Nobody, of course, cotdd be removed from the roll without investigation into all the circumstances ?— That is so. 6758. It would relieve the Central Midwives Board of veiy cumbersome and intricate work ?—Yes; the work sometimes is extremely difficult. 6759. From that point of view you would recom- mend the change too ?—Yes ; I think these cases have increased rather than diminished. 6760. Have you anything to say as to the con- stitution of the Board?—My impression is that it should be enlarged. 6761. In any particular du-ection ?—I do not think the general practitioners are sufficiently represented upon the Board. 6762. But you represent the general practitioners ? —Yes, but inadequately. I am only one upon a board of nine. 6763. But, after aU, one on a board of nine is a very large proportion ?—I do not think so. 6764. It is one-ninth on a board of that character, representing the interests of the general practitioner ? —But I do not think they are sufficiently represented. We number, I suppose, nearly 40,000. 6765. But in what sense would two general prac- titioners on the Central Midwives Board represent the interests of the body better than one ?—When you are](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21361113_0302.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
