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58
District Nursing Association
This voluntary Association is active in providing amenities for patients and staff and administers
various charities which benefit the sick and elderly in the area.
Domiciliary midwifery
The City Council provides a domiciliary midwifery service to meet the needs of mothers who wish
to be confined at home, and for those who are confined in hospital for medical reasons but whose
social conditions permit planned early discharge.
As the number of domiciliary confinements has drastically declined it was considered expedient
to employ district nurse/midwives rather than full-time domiciliary midwives, with the exception of
the S.W.1 area, where the Westminster Hospital continued to provide the service on an agency basis.
Training
Two pupil midwives from St. Mary's Hospital, Harrow Road completed their Part II midwifery
training in the area in the first half of the year. Nurses from Middlesex Hospital spend a day with a
domiciliary midwife as part of their obstetric training.
LOAN OF HOME NURSING EQUIPMENT
Articles of nursing and sick room equipment are loaned free of charge for an indefinite period to
Westminster residents who are being nursed in their own homes.
Requests for this service are received from general practitioners, medical staff and medical
social workers of hospitals, district nurses and social workers of the Health Department. Considerable
assistance is also given to the physically handicapped on the recommendation of the Council's
Welfare Department. A very close liaison is maintained with all these bodies.
The provision of thick plastic sheeting, treated as a disposable item, has provided an invaluable
service to the incontinent being nursed at home; this eases the pressure on the Incontinent Laundry
Service.
The British Red Cross Society continues to issue small items of equipment on our behalf and I
should like once again to express my gratitude for the service they render.
In all, there are over 1,200 items on loan. During the year, 508 requests were met and 557 items of
equipment issued; many patients often require more than one item.
The number and variety of items on loan is as follows:—
Air and Sorbo rings 15
Back Rests 96
Bed Blocks 22
Bed Cradles 57
Bed Pans 19
Bed Tables 2
Bottles 20
Egerton Bed 1
Hospital Beds 29
Commodes 422
Fracture Boards 103
Hoists:'Easi-Carri' 8
Hoists: Penryn 16
'Humidaire' Tent and Motor 1
Inflatable Toilet Seats 3
Mattresses 32
Quadrupeds 37
Ripple Mattresses 5
Tripods 20
Special Bath Seats 2
Walking Frames 167
Walking Sticks 4
Wheelchairs145
In addition to the above, a number of items of a specialised nature are issued mainly for use by
handicapped children.