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25
cases. One closed in June and one had its registration amended. The
number of beds at the end of year was 184, of which 13 were for maternity
cases.
ESTABLISHMENTS FOR MASSAGE AND
SPECIAL TREATMENT
Section 355 of the Middlesex County Council Act, 1944, prohibits
any person carrying on in this district an establishment for massage and
special treatment without a licence from the District Council authorising
him to do so. There is a saving clause for registered members of the
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and for members of the medical
profession.
There were 33 of these establishments at the beginning of the year.
One was licensed during the year, but three discontinued. At the end of
the year 31 premises were licensed.
NURSING, MIDWIFERY, ETC., IN THE HOME
General Nursing
This is essentially a day-time service provided by a number of nurses,
some whole-time, some part-time, working under the Superintendent,
Mrs. Bromley. General medical practitioners get directly into touch with
the nurses about the treatment of their patients.
At the end of the year there were 20 whole-time nurses and 8 part-time
nurses who worked mostly in the mornings, an equivalent of 25 wholetime
staff. During the year they paid in all 60,268 visits.
Midwifery and Maternity Nursing
There are 11 midwives living in their own homes in different parts of
the district whose practices are largely round their homes. The NonMedical
Supervisor of the midwives is Mrs. Bromley (Tel. No. Pinner
Last year the midwives attended the confinements of 659 women in
their own homes, being present in 557 instances as midwives and in 102
as maternity nurses. Of these mothers confined in their own homes,
539 had the advantage of gas and air analgesia, 246 of pethidene and 120
of trilene.
Home Helps
The Home Help Service continued last year on much the same lines
as in previous years. Although essentially an emergency service or at
least one in which it is intended that help should be provided for short
Periods only, an increasing proportion of the time of home helps is being
given to long term, including tuberculosis, cases.
The average number of home helps was 2 full-time and 49 part-time,
being an equivalent of 31 full-time helps. They gave help in 1,007
useholds. In 286 of these the patient helped was a maternity case, in
34 was one suffering from tuberculosis, in 446 was one suffering from
an acute condition and in 241 was a long-term case.