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further increased. A home nursing service brings professional
help to those who cannot otherwise obtain it outside general hospitals,
while it relieves pressure on our general hospitals and enables
beds to be available for more urgent cases which cannot adequately
be dealt with at home.
(b) For Infectious Diseases.—Two of the health visitors, who
are trained nurses, can be drafted to the nursing of infectious cases
such as measles, whooping cough, ophthalmia neonatorum and
poliomyelitis, should their services be required. During the year
under consideration, however, owing to the general absence of these
diseases, there was no demand for such nursing.
Midwives.—At present there are eleven midwives practising
in the district. All have undergone training at a recognised
training school and possess the Certificate of the Central Midwives
Board. Although the supervision of these midwives comes within
the province of the County Council, there is close co-operation
between them and the local Welfare Centre. They are encouraged
to send or bring the expectant mothers, who engage their services,
to the Ante-Natal Centre and to advise the mothers to bring their
children to the Child Welfare Centre.
The Council does not subsidise any of the midwives, but when
maternity aid is required in necessitous cases the midwife who
resides in closest proximity is engaged at the expense of the Council.
Clinics and Treatment Centres.—There is no out-patient
department at the King Edward Memorial Hospital, which possesses
50 beds for the indoor treatment of medical and surgical patients,
but a Dispensary, conducted on provident principles, offers medical
and surgical attendance at their homes to non-insured persons.
A Tuberculosis Dispensary is provided by the County Council
at Green Man Lane and to this general medical practitioners or
members of the Public Health Staff may refer suspected or active
cases of pulmonary or non-pulmonary tuberculosis for diagnosis
and treatment.