London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Harrow 1970
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Harrow]
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44
Under the general direction of the patient's own medical practitioner,
the home nursing staff continued to carry out nursing care in patients'
homes during the year.
The table indicates a substantial increase in the amount of work undertaken by the nurses.
| 1969 | 1970 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | Total number of persons nursed during the year | 2,041 | 2,265 |
| (2) | Number of persons under 5 years old at first visit | 40 | 53 |
| (3) | Number of persons 65 years or over at first visit | 1,437 | 1,613 |
| (4) | Total number of visits made during the year | 66,848 | 74,365 |
| (5) | Number of visits of over one hour's duration | 2,827 | 3,168 |
| (6) | New cases referred during the year | 1,371 | 1,508 |
Type of Illness Involving The Above Visits
| Category | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical | 535 | 1,493 | 2,028 |
| Surgical | 96 | 112 | 208 |
| Infectious diseases | — | — | — |
| Tuberculosis.. | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Maternal complication | — | 19 | 19 |
| Total | 635 | 1,630 | 2,265 |
A large number of the visits are solely for the bathing of patients, a
task which can be carried out by less skilled staff working under the
supervision of the home nurse. The number of auxiliary nurses employed
to carry out these ancilliary duties was increased to three during the year.
The employment of two senior nurses at field level has worked very
well and their first line management responsibilities included the day-today
running of the service and the giving of support to more junior nurses.
Services for the Incontinent Patient
At the request of doctors and/or hospitals, incontinence pads and
interlinings are supplied to patients, who require them and this service
fulfills a very real need. An interesting feature of this service is the fact that
the pads and interlinings are now being manufactured at the Adult
Training Centre. This has many advantages in that modifications to the
pads and interlinings, for example, degree of thickness, size and shape, etc.,
can now be easily arranged to suit individual patients' requirements. At