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Nursing in the Home.—(a) The Southgate Queen's Nursing
Association continued to provide nursing facilities in the home
during 1947. Year after year it has been my privilege to record my
personal appreciation and that of the Public Health Department
for the excellent services rendered by the Nursing Association. It
is particularly fitting that this appreciation should be repeated now,
in view of the fact that the work of the Association will be taken over
by the Middlesex County Council on July 5th, 1948. It is difficult
to estimate the value of these nursing services to Southgate. Our lot
has been fortunate compared with many Boroughs which have not
enjoyed the benefits of a progressive, enterprising and well-staffed
organisation such as the Southgate Queen's Nursing Association.
The quality of the work has always been high, and quite out of
proportion to the small cost borne by the recipients. Like all
organisations of a similar nature, the Southgate Queen's Nursing
Association has found difficulty in obtaining sufficient nurses; but
there can be no doubt that the excellent reputation of the Association,
together with the admirable manner in which the staff is
housed and cared for, has resulted in more nurses being available
than would have otherwise been the case. All in all, the inhabitants
of Southgate owe a very deep debt of gratitude to the Nursing Association.
As many are perhaps not fully aware of the services which
this body has rendered, it gives me particular pleasure to put on
record my personal and very high opinion of the Association and all
its officers.
The Southgate Queen's Nursing Association also undertakes
the midwifery service in the Borough, acting on behalf of the Middlesex
County Council. As in the case of the home nursing services, the
quality of the work is excellent. Co-operation between the Queen's
Nurses and the staff of the Maternity and Child Welfare Department
has always been cordial and intimate, and there is no reason to
believe that this co-operation will not be continued when the National
Health Service Act comes into operation and the Middlesex County
Council becomes directly responsible for the midwifery services
within the County.
(6) As indicated in previous Annual Reports, home nursing
of certain infectious diseases is undertaken by the Southgate Queen's
Nursing Association at the request of the Borough Council, where
such home nursing is considered necessary or desirable. Little use
has been made of these services within the past few years, mainly
owing to the fact that the limited number of nurses available were
required for more urgent work.
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