[Report 1946] / Medical Officer of Health, Dundee City.

  • Dundee (Scotland). City Council.
Date:
1946
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1946] / Medical Officer of Health, Dundee City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    These figures represent the births which actually occurred in Dundee. Many of the confinements were of women who do not normally reside in the City, because, except for Maryfield Hospital, the residential maternity accommodation is available to patients normally residing elsewhere. Thus, of the total of 4,463 confine- ments, 4,077 were Dundee cases (3,941 of the 4,471 live births and 136 of the 162 still-births). c The question arises as to whether the resources are sufficient to meet the needs. Assuming that the demand continues on the 1946 level, the answer is definitely in the negative. During the present year (1947), the high birth-rate has continued, and there is great difficulty in finding indoor accommodation for all those who desire it. The position is aggravated by staff difficulties. Instead of increasing the average period of stay in hospital, it has had to be reduced, and wards have had to be overworked for long periods. Provided the birth-rate falls to something like pre-war level, and provided there is sufficient number of midwives, the indoor accom- modation position should be very much eased especially if improved housing conditions and an adequate supply of domiciliary mid- wives and home helps lead to a greater number of women deciding to be confined at home. Even so, the number of maternity beds in the City would not be up to that recommended by the Sub- Committee of the Scientific Advisory Committee in their report on Infant Mortality in Scotland. With the opening of the second maternity unit in Maryfield Hospital, it was hoped that a propor- tion of beds would be available for antenatal cases, and it was also hoped that it would be possible to provide special accommodation for premature infants born in the hospital or elsewhere. These pro- posals have had to be adjusted to meet urgent demands. Under the new Health Service, Dundee institutions will no doubt serve a wider area, and it will fall to the new Regional Hospital Board to review the whole position. The absence of an organised domiciliary midwifery service may be responsible to a small extent for the demand on hospital beds. This matter has been the subject of report on several occa- sions, and it is unlikely that an adequate domiciliary service will be established before the appointed day in terms of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act, 1947. Even then, the short supply of midwives will present difficulties. Meantime, consideration is