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practitioners. A series of intensive courses lasting a fortnight each has been arranged
for general practitioners; medical men who were newly qualified before being called
up are catered for by additional appointments as assistant medical officers in selected
general hospitals for a period of six months; and, finally, more experienced men
who are intending to become specialists have the opportunity of taking posts in
some of the Council's hospitals as trainee specialists. These appointments are for
six months in the first instance, and are renewable. The cost of making these three
classes of appointments is being defrayed by the Ministry of Health.
In the Highgate area the Council has three general hospitals, namely Highgate,
Archway and St. Mary, Islington, Hospitals, which are quite close to each other.
Hospital
organisation
In order to facilitate the redistribution and concentration of certain types of patients,
and thereby promote the best use of the medical and nursing services and increase
the scope and variety of the nursing training facilities, the Council decided to bring
the three separate hospitals under the administrative supervision of a single medical
superintendent. The obstetric and gynaecological work of these three hospitals
was already in the care of one specialist with complete clinical responsibility. The
scheme for unification and co-ordination of the three establishments also provided
for the addition to the staff of a whole-time physician specialist and a whole-time
surgeon specialist responsible for the medical and surgical work in the three hospitals.
Although progress in the development of the scheme for the rehabilitation
of sick persons in the Council's hospitals has been seriously handicapped by the
lack of suitable accommodation and the acute shortage of fully trained staff, active
rehabilitation departments have been firmly established at several hospitals; and,
during the year, seven qualified occupational therapists, three auxiliary occupational
therapists, and 12 handicraft instructresses have been employed on this work. Owing
to the shortage of persons suitably qualified to conduct remedial exercises, it was
not possible to appoint physical training instructors, but physical training under
medical supervision was given to Service patients at two large hospitals by Army
instructors temporarily allocated by the War Office. Attention has been given to
the purely diversional side of rehabilitation by the appointment at two hospitals
of paid full-time librarians who prescribe and convey suitable reading material to
patients. This work was previously carried out on a lesser scale by voluntary
helpers, and at most of the hospitals volunteers supplied by the Order of St. John
of Jerusalem and British Red Cross Society are responsible for the library and do
invaluable work.
Rehabilitation
At the request of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, the Council
co-operated in a scheme originated by the American Forces and supported by the
British Council, whereby American pharmacists serving in the American
European Forces were attached to British pharmacists as unpaid "observers."
Arrangements were made for observers to be allocated for three weeks in turn to
each of 24 of the larger general hospitals over a period of about three months.
Miscellaneous
The remuneration of consultants and specialists visiting hospitals on the borders
of or just outside the county was brought into line with the higher rate for visits to
hospitals and sanatoria outside London, and the opportunity taken to codify as far
as possible the rates for the same services at these hospitals and sanatoria. The
services of an allergist were made available to the hospitals.
The experiment, begun in 1944, of appointing clerks for work in out-patients'
departments and receiving wards to ease the work of nursing staff and to effect a
more rapid turnover and better organisation was very satisfactory and the principle
was extended by the appointment of 14 additional clerks.
Patholoaical laboratory service
The number of examinations (including post-mortem examinations) completed
in the group laboratories during the year ended 31st December, 1945, compared
with the year 1944, is given below:—
Group
laboratories