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20
By arrangement with the Essex County Council, children of
school age may be treated, this Council receiving a per capita
payment.
Professional Nursing in the Home.
(a) General.
The Dagenham District Nursing Association, the headquarters
of which are at York House, Dagenham, continues to fulfil a most
useful function in the area. The average number of nurses
employed is 10 and in addition there is a matron and a sister. A
high standard of professional treatment is attained by this association
and the work of the nurses is much appreciated.
A total of 1,020 general nursing cases were treated during the
year, involving 8,158 visits to the homes. 287 midwifery cases
and 111 maternity cases were nursed. In addition, these patients
paid a total of 1,739 visits to the ante-natal clinic held at York
House. Altogether then, the number of persons attended during
the year was 1,318 to whom 16,902 visits were paid.
During illness or other unforeseen contingencies in the Health
Visiting staff, the services of nurses from the association are
obtainable at our clinics, a fee being payable by this Council.
(b) Nursing of Cases of Infectious Diseases.
Cases of notifiable infectious disease are normally removed to
the Isolation Hospital; certain cases, however, of non-notifiable
infections are nursed by special nurses employed by the Nursing
Association.
Midwives.
There are no midwives in the district employed by the Local
Authority. At the end of the year there were 22 midwives living
in the district whose practices were confined almost entirely to this
area.
Laboratory Facilities.
Examination of clinical material is undertaken at the Essex
County Public Health Laboratory, Queen Victoria Street, London.
During the year, 591 swabs were examined for the diphtheria
bacillus, 253 samples of sputum for the tuberculosis bacillus, 2
samples for typhoid organisms and 18 samples of hair for ringworm.