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29
THE WORK OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING SERVICES
Miss L.E. Oakley, S.R.N.,S.C.M.,H.V. Cert.
Superintendent Nursing Officer
During 1966 the work of the three nursing services has gone on
despite a continuous fight against staff shortages. It is not easy to
recruit either midwives, health visitors or home nurses and the first two
do not apparently attract married women wishing to return to work.
Mothercraft sessions, held in doctors' surgeries and on Corporation
premises, have drawn midwives and health visitors more closely together.
Now that it is no longer necessary for a health visitor to be a state
certified midwife it is essential that the midwife takes over that part of
the teaching dealing with the management of labour and the establishment
of breast feeding and matters relating to the puerperium, whilst the
health visitor talks on the preparation of the nursery, the layette and
various problems relating to the first years of life. "Preparation for
Parenthood" is now a team effort comprising the midwife, the physiotherapist
and the health visitor. The obstetrician - be he family doctor or
hospital doctor - would be a welcome addition to the team.
In conjunction with the Ante Natal Clinic, a limited service for the
taking of cervical smears was started in July. Extension of the service
towards the end of the year makes it possible to plan for monthly sessions
in Purley, Sanderstead and New Addington.
The attachment of nursing personnel to individual general practices
will have the effect of drawing together members of the three services to
the ultimate good of the patient. It is regrettable that shortage of health
visiting staff makes it impossible for this section to go ahead as quickly
as have the home nurses and midwives. Whereas these two services have
now attachment as well as some liaison schemes in operation the health
visiting section has not yet found it possible to make really complete
attachments and very few liaison schemes. In fact three health visitors
are working practically complete group attachments as well as holding
down complete geographical areas.
The appointment of a number of temporary nurse assistants to assist
the health visitors with their duties under the School Health Service has
relieved them of a certain amount of .routine work and has enabled the
health visitor to use her special skills to more advantage.
In the district nursing field the method of working has been changed
- nurses either working with general practitioners or in groups. This
means that in the former case the general practitioner contacts the nurse
direct and in the latter administrative staff telephone the day's messages
to one member of the group only, thus freeing themselves for more important
work. By these and other methods of staff deployment it is hoped
that the service will more fully fulfil its role as envisaged by the concept
"Care in the Community".