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Full maternity medical service, for which a fee of £7 7s. 0d. is paid to general
practitioner obstetricians or £5 5s. 0d. to other medical practitioners, entails the
carrying-out of two ante-natal examinations, attendance at the confinement if
necessary and availability for emergencies, together with the care of mother and
child for fourteen days after confinement and a post-natal examination of the
mother at about six weeks after the birth. Payment is also made, according to
approved rates, for partial services, i.e., when the full maternity medical service is
not given. The London Executive Council also pay for attendances by medical
practitioners in emergency on unbooked maternity patients, where the practitioner
is not called in by a midwife.
HEALTH VISITING
Each year more school nursing sisters obtain the health visitor's certificate and
progress has been made in the gradual introduction of a combined health visiting
and school nursing service.
During the year, thirty-one health visitors have attended the routine refresher
courses arranged by the Royal College of Nursing and the Women Public Health
Officers' Association. Some health visitors attended a course on the teaching of
parentcraft, arranged by these bodies. A large number of the health visiting staff
also attended lectures arranged by the Council on the care of premature infants,
and on marriage guidance and the family. Divisional nursing or assistant divisional
nursing officers attended the summer school held by the Central Council for Health
Education, the annual conference of the Women Public Health Officers' Association,
the conference on Expert Committee on Nursing of the World Health Organisation
and the conference for Superintendent Public Health Nurses, both arranged by the
Royal College of Nursing.
By arrangement with the Children's Officer I have continued responsibility for
duties in Part XIII of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, as amended by Part V
of the Children Act, 1948. The visiting of foster-children and the inspection of the
premises in which these children are living have continued to be undertaken by health
visitors designated as "child protection visitors." Towards the end of the year
616 foster-children were being supervised under these arrangements.
HOME NURSING
The home nursing service is provided on the Council's behalf by the voluntary
district nursing organisations in the County, the Central Council for District Nursing
in London acting as the liaison and advisory body. There are 24 District Nursing
Associations, 2 religious denominational societies and the Ranyard Nurses acting
in this capacity, and the number of nurses employed by them at the end of the year
was 341 whole-time and 114 part-time, being the equivalent of 397 whole-time
nurses, compared with 281 whole-time and 111 part-time at the end of 1950 (equivalent
to 340 whole-time nurses).
The district nurses made 1,452,410 visits in 1951 compared with 1,291,887 in
1950, and there were 8,284 patients still in nursing care at the end of the year. The
average case-load of a nurse at any one time was 21 patients, and each nurse made an
average of 13 visits daily.
The chief details of the work done by the organisations on behalf of the Council
during the year were:—
Mid-year population (estimated) 3,358,000
Treatments commenced 53,008
Treatments completed 52,025
Treatments completed per 1,000 population 15.5
Total number of visits 1,452,410
Total visits per 1,000 population 432.5