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New Staff
Five of the student health visitors trained by us in 1966/67
passed their examination and were welcomed into the health visiting service
of the borough. It is good for the service to have a transfusion of fresh
young blood from time to time and the enthusiasm and new ideas that this
brings.
Two student health visitors are being sponsored by the borough for the
1967/68 course and they have been awarded placed at the Ewell Technical
College.
One health visitor took the Field Work Instructors' Day Release Course
at Bedford College and will be available for the training of students next
year. One health visitor attended a refresher course at Leeds and
another attended at Bedford College. Refresher courses are taken by all health
visiting staff every five years.
DOMICILIARY MIDWIFERY AND HOKE NURSING
Staff as on 31st December, 1967 Full-time 33 (35) Part-time 21 (l7)
Vacancies Full-time 5 (7) Part-time Nil (Nil)
The difficulty of maintaining a fully staffed Nursing and Midwifery
Service continues in the face of ever-increasing demands on the service.
Although the number of home confinements continues its downward trend an
increasing number of early discharges from hospital results in a net increase
in the work of midwives. In last year's Annual Report attention was drawn
to the increasing numbers of patients being discharged from hospital to the
care of the community services. This trend continues and is associated
with degrees of disability requiring many more visits and nursing of greater
intensity and skill. The number of visits made by home nurses has increased
since 1966 by 9703 and since 1965 by 14168. These circumstances have
placed a heavy burden on a service which has never been fully staffed. The
demands have been met with a devotion to duty which is remarkable and which
it is doubtful could be paralleled in any other sphere of work.
The rapid development of nursing and medical techniques commensurate
with advancing knowledge necessitates a considerable amount of in-service
training and the training of students and pupils for National examinations
continues.
During the year the Nurses Homes at 57 Montagu Gardens, Wallington and
64 North Street, Carshalton, were closed and the two were combined at a
home at 8 Stanley Park Road, Wallington. This produced some difficulties which
will continue until the extensions and improvements in the new premises
which have been approved by the Council and included in the 10-year Development
Plan can be achieved. These are urgently required and it is confidently
expected that when the Development Plan is complete the Service will run more
efficiently and enable nurses and midwives to make the best use of their
available time by reducing the amount of travelling time and increasing the
co-ordination of services in different parts of the Borough. It is hoped
by this means that their burden will be lessened and it is vital to achieve
the total re-organisation as soon as possible to enable us to meet the
ever-increasing demands which are made upon us.
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