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interested agencies a meeting was held in this Department attended by local paediatricians, representatives of the family doctors
and Borough medical staff, medical social workers, child care
officers, nursing officers, police and the N.S.P.C.C. A comprehensive scheme has now been established whereby a child "at risk"
is notified to this Department and all workers concerned are kept
informed.
Several case conferences with similar attendances have been
held at local hospitals to ensure the safety of a child in-patient in
this category and to provide assistance for its parents in instances
presenting particularly difficult problems.
Home Nursing
Despite a slight decrease in new patients by 44 to a total of
4,188, the current year showed an advance of 12,434 to 221,448
in visits undertaken by the District Nurses. Referrals of new
patients from general practitioners fell by 61 while those from
clinics, hospitals, geriatric visitors and district nursing services
rose by 17.
Average visits to each patient increased due partly to the
greater number of frail, chronically sick and disabled of whom
3,621 (65.2%) were over the age of 65 years. Furthermore,
patients suffering from malignant conditions and requiring day
and night care increased by 22 and, in the later stages of their
illness, many require 4 to 6 visits each day.
During the year 2 more general practitioner/district nursing
schemes were commenced and at 31st December, 1971, there were
54 general practitioners and 26 district nursing staff involved in
liaison arrangements. Of the 3,040 new cases referred by general
practitioners, 88% or 2,676 (74% or 2,292 in 1970) were from the
doctors forming part of this scheme.
Case loads remained fairly constant although somewhat higher
in the regions covered by the "scheme" than in the geographical
areas. Visits per full-time staff averaged 3,444.