Problems during World War 1 According to the Annual Report on 8 Jan 1915 there were nine medical men looking after over 10,000 patients. Two of the medical officers had volunteered and gone to the front (Dr Herepath and Dr Dixon) where they were doing good work. The duties of one of these men is being done by a colleague and the other by his father who was formerly on the staff of the Dispensary. One of the members of the Committee had been killed in action (Mr JS Davey). He had been replaced by Mr TH Smith representing the Bristol Workers Medical Institute Fund thus making the Dispensary the first Institution in the city to invite a representative of the employees to sit upon its committee. In 1917 Dr Elliott reported that almost all the remainder of the medical staff had been called up. They had received six days notice which had subsequently been cancelled and a months notice given to expire on …show more content…
The secretary explained that originally the notes were free but the midwives now charged an extra 5 shillings per case that they were now raising to 7/6. The reason being that under the Dispensary rules the midwife attended the confinement, washed the baby and paid 4 visits during ten days under the Central Midwifery Board rules to which all midwives are attached they have to visit each day for ten days as well as a large amount of extra attention which would be impossible for them to give at a fee of 7/6 – in their private cases the charge was 17/6. The Bristol Lying in Institution whose notes were originally free, now have printed on them a notice that each patient should be charged an extra 5/0 and it was very probable that this would be raised to 7/6. The committee decided that if the patient was in very poor circumstances and thought the note was free of any extra charge, then the Institute would remit the midwife an extra 7/6 so that the patient should be attended