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from a knowledge of the numbers and types of cases referred
by individual doctors.
The numbers of new cases referred during 1955 by the
medical practitioners resident in the Borough of Ealing
are shown in Table D. Five doctors each referred over 100
cases, the greatest number by any one doctor being 301.
Five doctors referred no cases at all, although this may
have been due to their having a private residence in Ealing
but practising mainly from a surgery outside the district.
Table D also shows the treatments required by the cases
referred by the seventeen doctors who referred over 50
cases in the year. It is difficult to compare the numbers
of cases referred by individual doctors as the potential
use that each may make of the Home Nursing Service is probably
determined by the size of his practice - particularly
his National Health Service panel - information which is
not available. One fact, however, which is clearly revealed
is that the position which many of the doctors
hold in the list depends entirely on the number of cases
referred for penicillin injections.
Conclusions^
The conclusions arrived at may be briefly summarized
as follows. In the three years 1953 to 1955 there has been
a reduction in the total cases referred for home nursing
due to fewer cases requiring injections of penicillin.
The total visits made by the nurses has, however, remained
unchanged owing to there being a higher percentage of
cases in the age group 65 years and over, which tend to
require attention over long periods. The cost of providing
a Home Nurse and a Home Help for a typical patient is
estimated at £4 per week, compared with a cost of £16 to
£19 per week for accommodation in hospital. There are
great disparities in the use made of the service by individual
medical practitioners, dependent mainly on the
propensity of certain doctors to prescribe penicillin by
injection.