London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Southwark 1969
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southwark, Borough of]
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co-operation is shown by the smoother passage for patients when transferring from
hospital to community care.
During the year two student nurses completed their training. Many student nurses
from both the King's and Guy's groups of hospitals accompanied the district nurses on
their visits
The following table indicates the volume of work undertaken in the District Nursing Service during 1969:
| New patients visited | 3,087 |
| Total number of visits | 137,893 |
| Nursing staff employed at the end of the year(f.t.e.) | 63 |
| Visits per nurse (f.t.e.) | 2,189 |
Health Visiting
The health visitor in the United Kingdom has been defined by the Council for the
Training of Health Visitors as a nurse with a post registration qualification who provides a
continuing service to families and individuals in the community. The main aspects of her
work are:
(i) the prevention of ill-health;
(ii) the early detection of handicap and ill-health and the surveillance of high risk
groups;
(iii) identification of need and mobilisation of the appropriate resources to meet
the need;
(iv) provision of care, including advice and guidance in the care and management
of children and in cases of illness;
(v) health education.
The work of the health visitor in these fields, including that carried out in schemes
of attachment to general practitioners, is described in the appropriate sections of this
report.
The part of the health visiting service which is measurable is shown in the following statistics for 1969:
| First visits to: | |
|---|---|
| Children born in 1969 | 4 904 |
| Children born in 1968 | 6,131 |
| Children born in 1964—1967 | 14,401 |
| Total | 25,436 |
| Aged over 65 | 479 |
| Mentally disordered | 160 |
| Persons discharged from hospitals (other than mental hospitals) | 50 |
| Infectious diseases | 46 |
| Total of all visits made by health visitors | 90,998 |
Attachment of Staff to General Practitioners
Further progress has been made in the attachment of nursing itaff to general
practitioners. In addition to the existing attachment of three full-time health visitors and
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