The Midwife And The Single Dad by Gill Sanderson Read Free Book Online

‘There’s a bit of plumbing to sort out and then the carpets to fit.’
    ‘I’ll be watching you, Henry Chappel,’ Morag threatened. ‘Make sure you do a good job.’
    ‘Don’t I always?’ The painter winked at Alice.
    ‘You’re not bad,’ Morag allowed. ‘But we’ll be in every day to see how you’re getting on.’ When they had gone downstairs she asked Alice, ‘What do you think of the place?’
    ‘I think it’s wonderful. And who chose the furniture? It’s just right.’
    ‘Dr Cav chose it. Said he’d seen too many medical buildings ruined by letting a committee choose stuff. Now, let’s go and look at your birthing unit.’
    Alice had already seen the specifications of the unit, but it was different to see it already built. Her very own MLU—midwifery-led unit. There were two delivery rooms, an assessment room, a larger room to be used as a clinic. There was an ultrasound scanner—she had gone on a year-long course to be trained to use the machine.
    ‘You’re going to be your own boss in here,’ Morag commented. ‘Your new mums will be perfectly happy here, they’ll have individual one-to-one care. I bet once people hear about this place that the town birth rate will go up.’
    ‘I’m not sure that’s the purpose of the exercise,’ Alice said.
    But she was very happy with the place. It fell in line with her own ideas about child-bearing—that the more personal the attention was, the happier the mother would be. Of course, she could only deal with comparatively simple cases. Anyone needing a Caesarean, for example, would have to be shipped to a hospital on the mainland. But most cases were simple and Alice could cope. In fact, there would usually be no need to involve a doctor at all. She was a registered midwife practitioner and so could prescribe the drugs she thought necessary.
    Morag led her outside. ‘And last of all—your own private ambulance. Though you’ll use it most for your usual calls.’ It was a long-wheelbase Land Rover, fitted with a bunk and a special carrier for a newborn.
    Alice inspected it, open-mouthed. ‘I never expected anything like this!’
    Morag nodded happily. ‘Good, isn’t it? Dr Cav fought for it. Said he didn’t want to have to order any more helicopters from the mainland for medical emergencies. Said that this would be safer—and cheaper too in the long run. That man can be convincing when he puts his mind to it. Ever driven anything like this before?’
    ‘Never. I’m more used to driving an old van at fifteen miles an hour through the streets of London. I even thought I might have to turn into an old-fashioned midwife and travel everywhere by bike.’
    ‘Those times are gone,’ Morag said half sadly. ‘Are you going to be happy here?’
    ‘Very. I can’t wait to move in and get started.’
    They walked back to Morag’s clinic. ‘So d’you fancy working this afternoon? I’ve been having to cover a lot of the midwife’s work and my own work has suffered a bit. There’s three pregnancy examinations you could do.’
    ‘I’d love to,’ Alice said, and then hesitated. ‘There’s just one thing. I need to know that I’m insured. That it’s all right for me to work. I’ve got to be covered. I’m not supposed to start for a week.’
    Morag looked at her curiously. ‘I’m not asking you to do anything drastic,’ she said. ‘No deliveries or anything. Just simple examinations.’
    ‘I’d still like you to phone Ben to make sure it’s OK.’
    Alice could see that Morag was a bit surprised by this, even a little hurt. Then she looked at Alice shrewdly. ‘You’ve got a reason for asking, haven’t you? A definite reason, something that happened not too long ago?’
    Clever of her. Alice thought. But she merely said, ‘I’ve learned that it’s always best to be covered. Tell you what, let me phone Ben and explain. He can phone the trust and get things sorted out.’
    She didn’t like bothering him but it was something she