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Introduction of disposable equipment
A change is rapidly taking place in the various materials used
by the nurse in her daily work.
Much time used to be spent packing and sterilising dressings.
Pre-packed sterile dressings are now available and in general use.
Caps, gowns and masks all made of paper, sterilised and packed
ready for use, are on the market and making their appearance in
everyday use. Plastic syringes complete with needle, sterile, and
requiring no preparation before use, are also readily obtainable.
All these items can be destroyed after use and it will readily
be understood that these disposable goods collectively result in a
considerable saving of the nurses' time and also (because of the
guaranteed sterility) in a wider margin of safety for the patient.
Nurses' day to day work
The great increase of the past few years in the amount of
drugs given by injection seems to have passed its peak and many
practitioners are using more of the new drugs which are given by
mouth.
The influenza epidemic brought many calls but the disease
seemed to be of a mild type and did not unduly overburden the
service.
The main work of the home nurse is still amongst the aged in
the two boroughs. Old people tend to be left alone during the day
and those who live entirely alone present a multitude of problems.
Four nurses attended refresher courses during the year and,
as in previous years, students from teaching schools have accompanied
home nurses for observation visits.
Co-operation with other services
The working of the service generally has been helped by good
relations with general practitioners, chest physicians, hospitals and
the other health and welfare services within the boroughs. The
British Red Cross Society continued to meet the numerous requests to
provide equipment and aids for the ill and the handicapped.
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