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due to the extreme shortage of staff and the varying needs of the service, have been subjected
to changes in duties and responsibilities during the year.
COMMUNITY NURSING SERVICE
Miss Gillian Pittom, Chief Nursing Officer, writes:-
The Community Nursing Service has extended the range of work throughout the year.
The staff have increased in number thus an increasing amount of in-service and specialised
training has been made available in order to enable the staff to improve and keep abreast of
the many changes and the demands made upon them by their patients. For the first time in this
Authority ancillary help has been available for assisting the district sisters' routine visits to
the severely handicapped and elderly.
The 3 nursing services working with the general practitioner, forming the primary care
teams in the community, have begun to be more fully extended in areas other than health
centres. A new emphasis is being placed on age groups needing regular surveillance within
the community in the preventive field as well as screening of vulnerable groups such as those
with obesity or chest conditionsThis group-work links all members of the team. Health Visitors
and Clinic Nurses are continuing to play an important part in child school health and have
shown an increasing interest in developmental screening.
In certain areas where children are considered at risk due to home pressures all
members of the primary care team meet with their colleagues in hospital and in the Social
Services Department for care of this group and discussion of individual families.
Midwifery
This year has been notable for the institution of a different type of midwifery training
during the latter part of the year. This will provide a more comprehensive years' training in
midwifery with an added emphasis on community experience at an early stage for every
student midwife.
One hostel for student midwives has been considered sufficient for the numbers of
students requiring residential accommodation so Clifton House was closed in June. Carisbrooke
continues to serve 10 student midwives. One nursing officer responsible for midwifery and the
midwifery tutor have office accommodation and one room is used for district midwives to meet
students for training purposes. Domiciliary deliveries have shown a continuing slow decline
as in accordance with the national pattern. Early transfers have increased and more general
practitioners have delivered their own midwifery patients in Thorpe Coombe with their
appropriate midwife.the mother and child shortly being returned home in the continuing care
of this partnership. It is hoped that this excellent integration of the services will increase as
it is more widely known and appreciated. General practitioners have an increasing awareness
of ante-natal patients and domiciliary midwives support them at all their clinics assisting with
domiciliary and hospital booked cases.
District
Nursing
This service is spreading rapidly in the domiciliary field and in general practitioner
premises as well as health centres. The breadth of work has increased and a wider variety of
nursing care has been available for sick and severely handicapped. This improved service
has been greatly assisted since May, when 9 nursing auxiliaries were recruited for routine
care of elderly and handicapped. These assistants have been allocated to small groups of
nurses mostly as part-time morning help and have proved a happy and successful addition.
Some of the nursing sisters volunteered to assist the nursing officers with suitable training
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