H.—22.

It has been arranged that the patients at the "Door of Hope" institution for single girls, which is very near St. Helens, shall be attended in their confinements. This will aid the above charity, and be additional experience for the pupil-nurses. There have been no changes in the staff. Dr. Tracy Inglis, Miss Peiper, and Miss Paul have done excellent work. There are seven pupil-nurses and an eighth is now to be taken. Six have been trained here already. In calculating the expenses for maintenance of the St. Helens Hospitals the rents of the two hospitals at Wellington and Dunedin, one of which is not Government property, and the other is rented until December, were not included. The Medical School Maternity Hospital, Dunedin. From the 20th May, 1907, to the 31st March, 1908, 65 patients were admitted, and there were 65 births. Nine patients were attended in their homes: there were 2 maternal deaths, no deaths of infants. Receipts from patients, £73 18s. 4d.; expenditure for maintenance, £495 15s. Id. ; expenses, less fees, £421 16s. 9d. This institution was opened on the 20th May, 1908, and has been visited on several occasions. It has been very nicely done up, and adapted for a hospital, and has every convenience for work. A few nurses are there trained as midwives, and are eligible to sit for the.State examination under " The Midwives Act, 1904." They go through the same course of training as the pupils of the State maternity hospitals, and have a course of lectures on the same lines. This institution should be a valuable addition to our midwifery training-schools, but, owing to its being primarily intended for the instruction of the medical students, only a limited number of pupil-nurses can be taken. The Matron, Miss Hay, is a good manager-, and the Hospital is always in good order. The household work is largely done by one of the young women awaiting confinement. There is a -large room apart from the Hospital proper, in which two or three waiting patients can be taken, these being mostly unmarried women. The Home is essentially for single girls or those people who cannot afford to pay for medical attention, or who have not sufficient convenience in their own homes. Payment is according to the means of the patient. If the patient is destitute no payment is expected or asked for. Two medical practitioners—Drs. Batchelor and Ritchie —are associated with the institution, while there is one senior medical student to attend to each patient. A large percentage of cases sent to this Hospital, as to the State maternity hospitals, are women suffering from difficulties and complications in labour, and are often sent in too late for treatment. Alexandra Home, Wellington. Visited 7th August, 1907. This Home for single girls fills a great want, in that the girls are obliged to stay and care for their babies for six months. After that places are found for them, if possible with their babies. Unfortunately it is not availed of to its fullest extent, owing to the dislike the young women have to be kept in so long, and they often prefer to board their children out and go to work again as soon as possible outside. One or two pupil-midwives receive here their practical training, and attend lectures at the St. Helens Hospital, afterwards sitting for the State Examination in Midwifery. Salvation Army Maternity Home, Wellington. This Maternity Home, managed by the Salvation Army officers, was visited in December, 1907. There were 20 inmates, with 18 babies. The patients taken are single girls for their first confinement. They are often in some months before, and are engaged in the various household duties and in sewing. They are expected to stay at least three months, but sometimes leave earlier. The girls have every reasonable comfort, and the babies are well cared for. The chief drawback is a tendency to overcrowding, especially in the nursery and the dormitories. A registered midwife attends the confinements, and a doctor attends when called upon. It has been arranged that a pupil-nurse shall receive her training in midwifery here, in conjunction with St. Helens lectures. Salvation Army Maternity Home, Christchurch. This is a new and very comfortable house built for the purpose. The dormitories are fresh and well ventilated, and looked in beautiful order on my visit. The small labour-room was spotlessly clean and neat. The nursery, furnished with low cribs for the babies, was empty at the time, all the babies being outside. The single girls taken here for their first confinements are subjected to the same rules as to length of stay and nursing their infants as in the other Salvation Army Homes. There were 16 girls and 12 babies in. Salvation Army Maternity Home, Auckland. This Home is in a very unsuitable house, but is, fortunately, very soon to be moved into a new building. There were 14 girls and 13 babies in at the time of my visit, most of them looking well and healthy.

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