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24
Miss Friend, O.B.E. the Chief Nursing Officer at the Department of
Health and Social Security, spent a day with the staff during July. They
were pleased to welcome her to Croydon and discuss their work with her.
Domiciliary Midwifery Service
The falling birth rate has been reflected in the number of patients delivered
at home and in the number of patients discharged early from hospital.
Two midwives who resigned during the year have not been replaced. All the
remaining midwives have been equipped with radio telephones. When "blind
spots" have been eradicated, a more efficient service should ensue. No
doubt the midwives will feel under greater pressure as they will be more
readily available and a different style of management may be needed.
One of the Hospital Maternity Units had to close due to infection and
with the help of the Home Nurses and Health Visitors, mothers and babies
were discharged for home nursing. This enabled the Unit to be re-opened in
a shorter space of time.
Health Visiting Service
The Health Visiting Service has worked under considerable pressure
this year due to the shortage of staff. The six sponsored students who
successfully completed their training were insufficient in number to fill
the vacancies. It is especially regrettable that it was only possible to recruit
five full time and one part-time student for current training.
It becomes increasingly clear that with the rising cost of living in the
London area, and loss to the profession of young Health Visitors due to
early marriage and pregnancy, that recruitment and retention of staff will
continue to be difficult. It is, therefore, essential that work which does not
require the special skills of highly trained Health Visitors is delegated to
less well qualified staff. To determine more precisely how the Health
Visitors are spending their time, a detailed survey of their work and that of
the School/Clinic Nurse was undertaken for two weeks in September/October.
The results of this survey will not be analysed until later in 1973.
The attachment and alignment of Health Visitors to General Practitioners
continued slowly as staffing numbers allowed. The wider range of work thus
undertaken by the Health Visitors is reflected in this year's statistics.
At the suggestion of one of the General Practitioners, two Health Visitors
started a Slimming Club at the Parkway Health Centre one evening a
week. It has proved a very successful venture.
Home Nursing Service
Established posts were increased during the year but this barely kept
pace with the increasing work load. Considerable difficulty has been experienced
in recruiting male nurses. Housing accommodation has not compensated
forthe higher salaries which can be earned in the Hospital