Farewell To The East End

and clammy, caused by pain and blood loss. She was in a state of obstetric shock, but her condition was stable. Sleep would benefit her, so the doctor gave an injection of morphine, which he could not have done while the baby was in utero. She dozed off in Meg’s arms.
    The doctor prepared for suturing. There was now no hurry, so he gave Mavis a local anaesthetic around the perineum and the vaginal wall, and sat back, waiting for it to take effect. Once the local anaesthetic had numbed the perineum, the doctor was able to repair the episiotomy. He was relieved to find that the cervix was not torn.
    Meanwhile Trixie was down the road ringing the Flying Squad. She had taken off her gown and cap but had forgotten to take off her mask. There was blood on her hands and arms, and smeared down her uniform and legs. As she ran down the road she did not notice that people were looking at her rather strangely. It was not until she was inside the telephone box that she realised she did not have the three pennies on her with which to make a telephone call, so she stopped a passer-by. ‘Can you let me have threepence for an urgent telephone call?’ Only then did she notice the mask, so she pulled it off. Her hand was trembling, and she noticed the blood on it for the first time.
    ‘I must have threepence. I forgot to bring it. I must ring the hospital.’ Trixie’s voice was shrill. Dubiously the man dug into his pocket and produced three pennies. ‘Thanks.’ She dived into the box, but her hand was shaking so much that she could not dial the number or put the pennies in the slot, so she called the man back.
    ‘You’re in a bad way, nurse,’ he said.
    Trixie felt too weak to answer, so she merely handed him a bit of paper.
    ‘Ring that number for me, please.’
    The phone rang, and a voice answered immediately. Briefly Trixie explained the situation and gave the address. ‘We will send the Flying Squad immediately,’ the voice said.
    ‘Do you need any help getting back to the house?’ asked the man kindly.
    ‘I’ll be all right. Thanks for your help.’
    When Trixie returned to the house, Meg was shouting at the doctor and Sister.
    ‘You murderers! Look wha’ you done. You’ve hurt ’er. I’ll report you to ve authorities, I will. Look at ve blood. You nearly killed ’er, you did.’
    The doctor tried to defend himself
    ‘The placenta separated prematurely. That was the cause of the blood loss. I did not cause it.’
    ‘Liar! Tell vat to the judge. Medical blunderers.’
    She turned on Sister. ‘An’ you, yer no better. You’ll kill vat baby afore you’re finished. An’ it’ll be your fault if she dies. I’ll not forget vis, I’ll not.’
    Bewildered, the doctor looked at Sister.
    ‘Can you explain?’ he asked plaintively.
    ‘I doubt it,’ said Sister wearily. Her eye was swelling up, from the blow she had received from Meg. ‘We’ve been trying for six months with no success. I doubt if any explanation will get through.’
    ‘I’ll not forget vis. You jest wait. You’ll pay fer vis an’ all, the pair of you.’ Meg rolled her eyes and spat on the floor.
    The Obstetric Flying Squad arrived. This was an emergency service held in readiness by all big hospitals for the support of domiciliary midwives. It was their proud boast that they could get to any emergency in twenty minutes, and they seldom failed to do so. An obstetrician, a paediatrician, and a nurse came, armed with an incubator, oxygen, drip, drugs, anaesthetics and all the other equipment used for obstetric surgery and infant resuscitation. They entered a small, hot and stuffy room that looked like a battle scene. Blood was literally everywhere. The doctor, covered in blood, was suturing the patient. The placenta still lay on the floor. Sister Bernadette, who was tending the baby, looked as though she had been in the front line. The skin around her eye was now blue, her face red and swollen, and her veil streaked with blood. A weird-looking woman in green glared at the hospital team with accusing eyes. ‘More murderers. I’ll see you don’t get ’er,’ she hissed venomously.
    The doctor and the obstetrician consulted. Mavis was sleeping peacefully because of the morphine given half an hour earlier by the doctor. But she had lost a lot of blood, and the shock was severe. An intravenous infusion of blood plasma by drip was installed.
    The placenta was scooped up off the floor, and the two doctors examined it. It was large, but