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108
The Local Nursing Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade
extended without fee their lectures on Home Nursing to Domestic
Helps, 12 of whom completed the course. The Organiser and 7 of the
Helps obtained the Home Nursing certificate at the end of the course.
The liaison with Hospital Almoners is improving; the insufficiency
of helps is appreciated by them.
Mrs. C. M. Hall, Domestic Help Organiser, reports as follows :
"1955 was an extremely busy year as applications for domestic
help increased continuously and it was very difficult at times
to meet the demand for assistance, particularly at the beginning
and end of the year. The service continues to be administered
as in previous years and more cases than ever before were dealt
with. A total of 2,498 visits were made. There were 12 fulltime
and up to 230 part-time helps. Although so many helps are
continuously employed, unfortunately there are never enough to
meet the immediate demand without a waiting period and at
times in an emergency, a full-time help may have to be transferred
from her usual duties to meet the greater need.
Liaison with Hospital Almoners is now much better, as the
Almoners are learning to realise the shortage of helps is very real
and explain to departing patients that there may be a waiting
period before help can be provided.
The helps work well with the Home Nurses and between
them a great deal is done to help the sick. The number of cases
carried forward into the New Year is more than ever before, and
as recruiting through advertising was very disappointing, the need
for more helps continues.
Below is a summary of the year's work
Brought forward from 1954 637
New cases during 1955 429
Cases completed during 1955 359
Number of cases carried forward to 1956 708
During the year two helps attended a training course for
domestic helps at Chelmsford and both were successful in obtaining
a certificate. A total of eight helps have now attended this
course and without exception have enjoyed it and found it
stimulating and helpful in their daily duties.
The aged chronic sick grow in number and continue to
absorb much of the available labour. Fortunately the number
of tuberculous cases needing domestic help continued low and
all requests were met.
The foregoing figures indicate an ever upward trend in the
number of requests for help and the care of the aged is a problem
to all concerned as the labour situation becomes more difficult.
The Domestic Help Service will continue to play a big part in
the comfort of sick and infirm people, and the helps deserve a
'Well done ' for a good year's work."