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Registration of nursing homes

†Each bed is registered for a maternity, medical or surgical case.
*Numbers include beds for medical and surgical patients which cannot be used if a maternity patient is accommodated in the
same room.
Close supervision of the homes was maintained and visits of inspection were made
at regular intervals by medical officers (60 inspections) and public health inspectors
(102 inspections). The shortage of qualified nursing staff continued to present a variety
of problems and underlined the need for maintaining a close scrutiny of the staff
provided at all homes. Exemptions from the operation of Part XI of the Public Health
(London) Act, 1936 granted during the year numbered 37.
Welfare Committee establishments
Arrangements were continued during the year for the close medical supervision of
establishments of all types under the control of the Welfare Committee. These include
large and small homes for the aged and infirm, mother and baby homes, homeless
families units, reception centres for persons without a settled way of living, lodging
houses, homes for the blind, hostels for mothers in work, and for other persons in
employment.
Homeless
families units
At the end of the year 104 mothers and 191 children were accommodated in the
four homeless families units. These units frequently presented difficult problems in the
control of infection. Factors responsible included the large number of residents who had
to be admitted and the fact that at all times a proportion of those admitted were careless
about cleanliness and hygiene. Intestinal infections were the most difficult to control;
when an epidemic of dysentery was present in London it invariably gave rise to increased
incidents in the homeless families units. Whenever a case occurred, bacteriological
examination of all room contacts was carried out; all who gave a positive result and
all who suffered from symptoms were removed to hospital. When there were signs that
infection had spread outside the ring of close contacts arrangements were made for the
bacteriological examination of all residents in the unit. Special accommodation was
provided for mothers with young infants.
Weekly visits were made by health visitors to advise mothers on the care of their
children and to give talks on mothercraft. Mothers were encouraged to attend sessions
at neighbouring maternity and child welfare centres and a weekly children's welfare
session was held at one of the units. Nursery classes, under the direction of the Education
Officer, for children aged between three and five years were conducted at two units.
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