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NURSING, EXTRA NOURISHMENT AND SHELTERS.
As in previous years the District Nurses have been asked to
visit many of our patients who are suffering from Tuberculosis,
and are being treated at home; 1,443 visits were paid by the nurses
in 1939. A limited provision is made for the supply of extra
nourishment to tuberculous persons, and this usually takes the form
of eggs and milk; 114 patients received help in this way during the
year. The scheme for the provision of shelters has been continued,
and 12 shelters are at present in use.
LADY ALMONER.
The Lady Almoner has a variety of duties which are concerned
chiefly in the after-care of tuberculous patients. She arranges for
assistance to be given to patients in a number of different ways,
as for instance in the supply of extra nourishment, the provision
of beds, bedsteads and nursing utensils. In a few cases she has been
able to arrange for a period of rest in a convalescent home, or for
a country holiday in the case of exhausted mothers. She regularly
visits the homes of patients who are undergoing treatment in
sanatoria in order to keep the relatives informed as to the patients'
progress, and to see that proper provision is made for the patients'
return. In addition to these duties the Lady Almoner acts as
Child Protection Visitor under Part XIII of the Public Health (London)
Act, 1936.