early 1930s Ministry of Health survey noted that ‘if treated in the general wards the fee is £2.2.0’, twice the full rate at the voluntary hospitals, with higher fees again for middle-class patients in private rooms (discussed in the next chapter). 45 The principle underpinning this gradation of payment was said to be ‘that the sick poor would have first claim upon the accommodation at Southmead, but any citizen would
Walker, also specialised in infertility. However, it was only after 1930, when Margaret Jackson started to advise and treat couples for infertility in the Exeter and District Women's Welfare Centre, that the possibility of seeking medical treatment opened up for working-class and middle-class patients. Out of the total number of patients attending the clinic in 1933, only 1 per cent sought advice on infertility. In 1943, this had increased to 33 per cent, totalling 161 patients. 124 Initially