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Marie Curie Memorial Foundation
The Marie Curie Memorial Foundation has set up a fund to pay for a Council
run service providing day and night nursing and sitter-in care for cancer patients.
The fund also provides for extra comforts, special needs, items of diet and equipment
to assist nursing in these cases.
Cancer patients, often terminal ones, require all the care and attention they
can get and this valuable contribution to their health and welfare is greatly appreciated
by patients and their relatives.
During the year, 15 patients benefited from this service.
At the end of the year, there were two Marie Curie nurses on our register,
available within the Borough to nurse cancer patients under this scheme.
Liaison with General Practitioners
The work of the home nurse is under the personal direction of the family doctor
responsible for the patient, but an arrangement of attachment of nurses to particular
general medical practices has not been established.
(Statistical Table 16—see page 117).
VACCINATION AND IMMUNISATION
Under Section 26 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, every local health
authority is required to make arrangements with medical practitioners for the
vaccination of persons in the area of the authority against smallpox, and the
immunisation of such persons against diphtheria.
The Minister of Health has also approved proposals for immunisation against
whooping cough, poliomyelitis and tetanus.
In addition to vaccination and immunisation by general medical practitioners,
facilities are also available at welfare centres and other clinics by the Council's own
medical staff. A fee is paid by the Council to general medical practitioners for
records of completed courses of immunisation or vaccination of persons under the
age of 16 years.
With regard to children under the age of 16 years, during the year, general
medical practitioners undertook a total of 3,267 primary courses and 3,069 reinforcing
doses against diphtheria, whooping cough, poliomyelitis and tetanus, compared
with 5,224 primary courses and 6,936 reinforcing doses by Council Medical
Officers. General medical practitioners also undertook 1,138 primary vaccinations
against smallpox and 106 re-vaccinations, compared with 1,478 primary vaccinations
and no re-vaccinations by Council Medical Officers.
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