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DISTRICT NURSING.
In February, 1920, there was a serious epidemic of
pneumonia, due to influenza, and it was also felt that there were
some cases of broncho-pneumonia —following measles that required
skilled nursing at home. A fully-qualified nurse was, therefore,
engaged, but after the epidemic of influenza had passed, and the
prevalence of measles had temporarily abated, there were
practically no requests for her assistance, and it was, therefore,
decided to terminate her appointment in the middle of 1921.
As there were two active nursing associations in the Borough,
agreements were now entered into between these and the Council,
so that any cases of acute primary or acute influenzal pneumonia
might not be neglected where nursing assistance was needed.
PROPAGANDA.
In the body of the report under the Propaganda section will
be found a detailed account of our propaganda work for the
year 1925, and it will only be necessary in this survey to mention
some of the steps which led up to the formation of the propaganda
section. It is a very old saying that "prevention is better than
cure," and up to the time when Sir George Newman published
his famous outline on the "Prevention of Disease," nothing on
a large scale had been done towards enlightening the public on
the prevention of disease. All efforts in this direction up to about
this time consisted in legislative measures against ordinary infectious
diseases, and the making of bye-laws and regulations for the
same purpose. It, therefore, came to be felt that the time for
purely repressive measures of this sort had come to an end, and
that progress could only be continued by enlisting the sympathy
and co-operation of the public at large, which could only be done
by taking them confidence, not only in the matter of
prevention of infectious diseases, but in many non-infectious
diseases, which could be guarded against by proper methods of
living. No amount of bye-laws or regulations will prevent
individuals from acting against the interests of the community or
their own interests, if they have not either the knowledge or the
will to conduct their own living on hygienic principles.