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syringes complete with needle, sterile, and requiring no preparation before use, are also readily
obtainable.
All these items can be destroyed after use and it will readily be understood that these
disposable goods collectively result in a considerable saving of the nurses' time and also
(because of the guaranteed sterility) in a wider margin of safety for the patient.
Nurses' day to day work
The great increase of the past few years in the amount of drugs given by injection seems
to have passed its peak and many practitioners are using more of the new drugs which are given
by mouth.
The influenza epidemic brought many calls but the disease seemed to be of a mild type and
did not unduly overburden the service.
The main work of the home nurse is still amongst the aged in the two boroughs. Old people
tend to be left alone during the day and those who live entirely alone present a multitude of
problems.
Four nurses attended refresher courses during the year and, as in previous years, students
from teaching schools have accompanied home nurses for observation visits.
Co-operation with other services
The working of the service generally has been helped by good relations with general
practitioners, chest physicians, hospitals and the other health and welfare services within the
boroughs. The British Red Cross Society continued to meet the numerous requests to provide
equipment and aids for the ill and the handicapped.