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January 26th. This occurred at about 9.15 a.m. and, fortunately,
it fell in some land used for agricultural purposes which was,
however, not further than one hundred yards from one of the
hospital wards. No person was killed or injured and no serious
damage was done, although many windows were blown out.
As was found at previous incidents, there was no panic among
the staff or patients. It is convenient at this point to refer to
the devoted and willing service given by all members of the
hospital staff to the various air-raid precaution schemes, and
to acknowledge our indebtedness to all those who helped the
hospital through the difficult war years.
The number of patients admitted during the year was 7,316,
a figure less than in 1938. Some statistics are included in a
brief appendix, but it must be pointed out that, owing to
abnormal circumstances, they cannot really be considered as
giving a reliable picture of the work done at the hospital.
During the year it was found possible to inaugurate an
Almoner's service. Miss L. M. Gilbert was appointed Head
Almoner to the Council's Hospitals and was stationed at Whipps
Cross Hospital in order that a commencement might be made. An
immediate problem was the provision of suitable office accommodation,
and as a temporary measure the old Female Receiving
Ward was utilised for this purpose and is still being used at the
time of writing; it must be emphasised that this arrangement
is qute unsuitable for the Almoner's Department, and it is hoped
that a better office can be provided at an early date.
Another activity directly affecting the patients was the
reorganisation of the Hospital Library Service. The Borough
Librarian was asked to report on the whole question and, following
his advice, a room was set aside as a library and arrangements
made for the preparation of record catalogues, the
changing of books and the necessary work of binding and repair.
It was further agreed that the Library Service should eventually
be provided for the patients and for the medical and nursing
staff.
A considerable amount of attention was given to the question
of the food service at the hospital and many visits were paid
and Committees held when this subject was discussed. A special
visit was made by an expert dietitian from the Ministry of
Health and a comprehensive report received on the changes
which would seem to be desirable. It was evident that considerable
difficulty would be found in bringing about some of these
changes, owing to the lack of experienced staff, the difficulty in
obtaining certain equipment and the impracticability of providing
the accommodation which was considered essential for a proper
service of meals. Nevertheless, the Committee decided to
introduce as many of the recommendations as seemed possible,
and to this end approved the appointment of a Catering Organiser
to be responsible for the catering in the hospital, under the
direction of the Medical Superintendent.
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