Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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HOME NURSING
Details of the work done by the 26 voluntary grant-aided district nursing associations
who acted as agents for the Council are given below:
Table (i)—
| 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State registered nurses | 491 | 533 | 506 | 512 | 517 |
| State enrolled assistant nurses | 42 | 30 | 33 | 34 | 34 |
| Total number of nurses employed | 533 | 563 | 539 | 546 | 551 |
| Male nurses (included above) | 38 | 41 | 41 | 39 | 39 |
| Full-time equivalent of nurses employed | 487 | 522 | 496 | 507 | 508 |
| Students | 75 | 52 | 65 | 78 | 27 |
| Male students (included above) | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | — |
The drop in numbers of students is due to an adjustment of the training period so that
courses no longer overlap.
Table (ii)—
| Type of case | Number of patients nursed | Percentage of total | Average number of visits to each patient | Total visits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical | 41,914 | 81.7 | 32 | 1,351,815 |
| Surgical | 5,735 | 11.2 | 41 | 232,988 |
| Infectious diseases | 144 | 0.3 | 11 | 1,506 |
| Tuberculous | 1,134 | 2.2 | 52 | 59,415 |
| Maternal complications | 1,047 | 2.0 | 7 | 7,626 |
| Others | 1,351 | 2.6 | 27 | 36,734 |
| 51,325 | 100.0 | 33 | 1,690,084 |
The total visits for 1958 and 1959 were 1,893,553 and 1,763,296 respectively.
Table (iii)—
| Visits for | At patient's home | Elsewhere (e.g.. Nurses' Homes) | Percentage of total visits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injections only | 614,053 | 32,992 | 38 |
| Injections plus other treatment | 85,571 | 313 | 5 |
| Other treatment only | 953,950 | 3,205 | 57 |
| 1,653,574 | 36,510 | 100 |
During 1960 the proportion of visits for 'Other treatment only' rose by five per cent.
compared with 1959, whilst visits for 'Injections only' fell by four per cent.
Table (iv)—
| Number | Percentage of total patients nursed |
|---|---|
| 9,628 | 18.8 |
The percentage of long-term cases shows a decline of 0.8 per cent. from the previous year.
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