London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
Home visiting and medical follow-up of children attending the Council's schools
has for nearly fifty years been the duty of voluntary children's care committee workers,
trained and organised by salaried staff employed by the Council. Progress continued
to be made towards integrating the health visiting service with the school nursing
service and towards a closer association of health visitors with voluntary workers in
the medical care of school children.
Tuberculosis
visitors
Details of the duties and work of the Council's tuberculosis health visitors are
described in the report on Tuberculosis on page 30.
Training of
student health
visitors
Details of the Council s scheme for the training of student health visitors are given
on page 129.
HOME NURSING
the home nursing service was provided, as hitherto, by 27 voluntary district
nursing associations (26 from 1.11.55) acting as agents for the Council, liaison being
maintained through the Central Council for District Nursing in London. These associations
(with one exception where a block grant is paid) were grant aided to the extent
of 90 per cent, in 1952-53, 92 per cent, in 1953-54 and 93 per cent, in 1954-55 and
1955-56.
The number of whole-time and part-time nurses employed at the end of 1955 was
572 (whole-time equivalent 512). This compares with 558 (508 whole-time equivalent)
at the end of 1954. Of the staff other than superintendents, assistant superintendents and
senior nurses, 321 were trained district nurses and 36 were State enrolled assistant nurses.
Male nurses employed at the end of the year numbered 49. Twelve of the district nursing
associations undertake district nurse training.
The total number or visits paid was 1,953,182 compared with l,873,88l in 1954, giving an average of 13 visits daily for each nurse (13 in 1954). The average case load of a nurse at any one time was 24 (23 in 1954). Treatments completed totalled 64,256 (61,352 in 1954), and there were 12,535 patients being nursed at the end of the year (11,792 in 1954). The completed treatments related to the following conditions :
| Number | Percentage of total | |
|---|---|---|
| Respiratory disease | 17,086 | 26.59 |
| Heart and arteries | 7,941 | 12.36 |
| Skin | 6,226 | 9.69 |
| Digestive diseases | 4,975 | 7.74 |
| Genito-urinary | 3,703 | 5,76 |
| Ear, eye and other sense organs | 3,340 | 5.20 |
| Cancer | 2,417 | 3.76 |
| Tuberculosis | 2,040 | 3.17 |
| Cerebral lesions of vascular origin | 1,690 | 2.63 |
| Diabetes | 1,580 | 2.46 |
| Injuries | 1,503 | 2.34 |
| Bones and joints | 1,377 | 2.14 |
| Veins and other circulatory diseases | 1,252 | 1.95 |
| Infections and parasitic diseases | 993 | 1.55 |
| Mental and other nervous diseases | 804 | 1.25 |
| Pregnancy | 750 | 1.17 |
| Other diseases or ill-defined | 6,579 | 10.24 |
These patients were referred to the nursing associations by :
| Number | Percentage of total | |
|---|---|---|
| General practitioners | 51,269 | 79.8 |
| Hospitals | 10,588 | 16.5 |
| Direct application | 1,041 | 1.6 |
| Chest clinics | 964 | 1.5 |
| Public health authorities | 394 | 0.6 |