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Duration of
treatment
The length of time and the frequency of visits involved in any treatment vary
considerably with the nature of the disease. Diabetic patients, in respect of whom
the treatment is mainly the administration of insulin, are on the average attended for
six months and the visits are daily in most cases. On the average the rheumatic
patients are nursed for four months at a time with two or more visits a week. Respiratory
conditions are nursed on the average for less than three weeks but with almost
daily visits. Digestive diseases (other than cancer) are normally of short duration.
Tuberculous patients, as might be expected, require prolonged nursing (about seven
weeks) as also do patients with heart disease (about eleven weeks). Cancer cases
extend over about seven weeks and cerebral haemorrhage cases over eight weeks.

A high proportion of the tuberculosis, cancer, cerebral-haemorrhage and heart
disease patients are ultimately removed to hospital or die at home, while for the other
disease groups, where the conditions are less severe, the recovery rate is high.
Equipment required for nursing patients at home has continued to be supplied
by the Council, either direct (in a few special cases) and through the agency of the
district nursing associations and the British Red Cross Society.
DOMESTIC HELP SERVICE
Domestic assistance is provided by the Council under section 29 of the National
Health Service Act, 1946, which extended the powers previously granted so as to
provide such service to any person who was ill, lying-in, an expectant mother,
mentally defective, aged, or a child not over compulsory school age. The demand
was greater than the supply but every endeavour was made to provide some service
for all those in urgent need, priority being given to maternity patients.