View report page

Visitors and Students
Overseas visitors, visitors from this country and parties of students
attended clinics to see maternity and child welfare and school nursing
in action. These included students from Barnardo's Staff College,
student teachers, post-graduate health visitors and student ward sisters
from King Edward's Fund Staff College.
Lectures to Student Nurses
The Superintendent Health Visitor gave eight lectures on "The
Social Aspect of Disease" to student nurses at the Prince of Wales's
Hospital during the year.
A number of other lectures were given to Barnardo's Students, The
British Red Cross, and other bodies, and two members of the health
visiting staff acted as examiners for the British Red Cross and St. John
Ambulance Brigade in their own time.
HOME NURSING
Section 25
With the closing of the Queens District Nurses Home, Bruce Grove,
Tottenham, all the nurses previously employed on an agency basis were
transferred to direct employment by the County Council.
The Superintendent of the Home retired on account of ill-health
and of the three nurses who were resident in the Home, one left the
service and the remaining two found alternative accommodation.
Twenty-eight nurses were employed at the end of the year including
three male nurses and ten part-time staff.
All requests for the services of a nurse are now received at the Area
Health Office during office hours, and at the Superintendent's house at
all other times. The service is used mainly by general practitioners,
hospitals and the chest clinics.
There has been a substantial increase in the number of calls made
upon the service during the past year and about 4,500 more visits were
made than in 1953. Shortage of hospital staff and the difficulty in gaining
admission for patients has resulted in more sick persons, particularly
the aged sick, being nursed at home and these latter usually resolve
into very long term patients. There has been an increase also in the
number of surgical cases sent home to the care of the home nurse for
the final stages of healing of operation scars. These measures relieve
the pressure on hospital beds. Much time is spent on the administration
by injections of antibiotics among both adults and children. A steady
flow of work is received from the chest clinic, and in Hornsey the London
County Council has opened a hostel for men suffering from tuberculosis.
All the treatment required at this hostel is carried out by the home
nursing service.
The home nurse works closely with the general practitioners, health
visitors and home helps and there is a free interchange of information
between this team of workers.
82