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PERSONAL HEALTH
Training of Staff of
other Agencies
Student nurses from the major local hospitals continued to spend time with
health visitors, learning about the preventive services by visiting homes with
the health visitor and seeing the work done in the clinics. Lectures were
also given to the nurses by the Medical Officer of Health and the Deputy
Superintendent Health Visitor.
Student nurses from the Middlesex Hospital continued to visit the borough
periodically for practical training in community services.
The Children's Department and the technical colleges also were given
opportunities for their students to learn about the work of the health visitors
and the department generally.
Slimmers' Advisory
Centres
During 1970 Slimmers' Advisory Centres for women were arranged at two
clinics at which weekly sessions were held. Talks on diet were given by
the health visitor and diet sheets and weight record cards were issued.
Attendance at twelve consecutive weekly sessions was encouraged.
The centres were well attended.
Section 25,
National Health Service
Act, 1946
Home Nursing
It is the duty of every local health authority to make provision in their area for
securing the attendance of nurses on persons who require nursing in their
own homes.
Section 11,
Health Services and
Public Health Act 1968
Local health authorities may make provision for the attendance of home
nurses on persons who require nursing elsewhere than in their own homes,
thereby facilitating co-operation between general medical practice and local
health authority services. Local health authorities may also arrange between
themselves for the services of home nurses to be used in one another's area
on agreed terms and conditions.
There was a substantial increase in the amount of work undertaken by the
nurses during the year.
Disposable Equipment
The use of disposable equipment contributed to the maintenance of improved
efficiency and safety. All nurses use disposable syringes, dressing forceps
and enemata.
Marie Curie Memorial
Foundation
This Foundation meets the cost of a service, run by the department, which
provides day and night nursing and sitter-in care for cancer patients. The
Foundation also provides for extra comforts, special needs, items of diet
and equipment to assist the nursing of these oases. During the year thirteen
patients were provided with this service, the nurses being provided through
nurses agencies.
Our own home nurses also continued to work a late evening rota to give
morphine injections to certain cancer patients not being provided with a
nursing service under the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation's scheme and
the number of late night visits increased considerably during the year,,
Liaison with General
Practitioners
The number of home nurses attaohed to group practices was increased from
seventeen to twenty. Each nurse attends only the patients of the practice to
which she is attached, and goes to the surgery daily for consultation and for
the treatment of certain ambulant patients. This arrangement is proving
satisfactory, although it tends to increase the nurses' case loads. Three
nursing auxiliaries were also attached to certain practices, working under
the supervision of the home nurses.
In the case of patients of the other practices, home nurses continued to
maintain a close liaison with the general practitioners concerned.
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