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HOME NURSING
The number of patients requiring home nursing decreased in 1969 but there were more patients
needing intensive nursing. The provision of a more frequent service to the very ill and the incontinent
patients has always been a primary aim of the service. With this in mind, two part-time state registered
nurses were employed during 1969 to work on Monday - Friday evenings. Both car drivers, they are able to
cover the whole of the Borough. The very ill and incontinent patients can now be visited 3 or 4 times a day
and patients can also be visited in the late evening to help them to bed if they have no relatives to do this.
Two district nursing sisters were sent on a Practical Work Instructors course to the North Western
Polytechnic for two weeks and have since been appointed senior nurses in charge of a group.
Nine pupil nurses from St. Matthew's Hospital completed the Integrated Course of District Nurse
training by December 1969; eight were successful and received the Queen's Institute Certificate. Ten
student district nurses undertook the course of training at the North Western Polytechnic for the National
Certificate; eight passed at the first attempt and two on resitting.
Eight patients with terminal carcinoma received nursing help from the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation
and seven received extra nourishment. There is a difficulty in finding nursing staff to do this type of
nursing.
During the year the Council took part in a pilot study of domiciliary care in terminal illness, carried
out by the Institute of Community Studies (financed by the Department of Health and Social Security).
District Nurses and other field workers were interviewed and completed questionnaires for the Institute.