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Members of the Working Party on the Management Structure in the Local
Authority Nursing Services. In November 1971, two Officers of the
Department of Health and Social Security came to Hammersmith to discuss
the changes in the nursing structure which would accord with the Mayston
recommendations. Appropriate changes have since been put in hand so that
the Chief Nursing Officer (effectively the Director of Nursing Services)
has now available to her an efficient management structure.
The Authority's Health Visitors, Home Nurses and Domiciliary Midwives
continued during 1971 to work very closely with the general practitioners
and hospital consultants over a wide clinical field. Health Visitors, in
particular, are becoming increasingly associated with hospital nursing
staff in geriatric and paediatric hospital departments, and a liaison
arrangement with a local radiotherapy department has proved valuable. The
domiciliary midwives during 1971, in addition to their normal duties, had
an important role in relation to women confined in general practitioner
obstetric hospital beds. Five District Nurses are attached to general
medical practices.
Early in 1971, the Administrative Services Committee approved an additional
establishment of three full-time State Registered Nurses with district
training along with part-time nursing auxiliaries to the equivalent of 3
full-time staff, to provide a night nursing service during the hours of
6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.
This service is designed to provide general nursing care for very ill and
chronically sick persons, to administer drugs, either orally or by injection,
and to perform other nursing procedures by dealing with doubly
incontinent persons. This exacting work is proving of great benefit to
a number of very frail and incapacitated persons who are being nursed
at home.
Both the Chief Nursing Officer and the Principal Nursing Officer retired
during 1971. Sincere thanks are expressed to these excellent Officers and
heartiest congratulations are extended to Miss J. Surr, the former Chief
Nursing Officer, on being awarded the Order of the British Empire.
HEALTH EDUCATION:
Health Education is a function of the health service which involves not
only Medical Officers, Dental Officers, Health Visitors, Public Health
Inspectors and the Health Education Officer,but is also a fruitful field
of collaboration with the Social Services. In addition to the continuing
programme of health education, which is conducted on a person to person
basis by various Officers, the Health Education Officer was responsible
for arranging several campaigns during the year, one of which has already
been referred to. The Chief Dental Officer and his staff, including the
Dental Auxiliary, were most active in encouraging children to practice
dental hygiene and parents to bring their young children for dental
inspection and treatment . In so far as there has been an increase in
the pre-school children seen and treated,these efforts, whether Puppet
Shows or Birthday Cards, are all well worth while.
CONCLUSION:
The great interest shown in the Authority's Health Services by Chairmen
and Members of the various Committees of the Council has been most
gratifying, particularly at a time when so many administrative changes
have taken place and so many more are proposed, and very sincere thanks
is expressed to them for this. The encouragement of the Members of the
Council has undoubtedly done a great deal to maintain the morale of the
staff of their Health Service during a somewhat difficult period.
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