London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hackney 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]
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PROFESSIONAL NURSING IN THE HOME.
The following table shows the number of cases attended and the visits paid by the nurses of the Hackney District Nursing Association on the Council's behalf during the year.
| No. of Cases Nursed. | No. of Visits Paid. | |
|---|---|---|
| Maternity Nursing | 25 | 286 |
| Measles | 1 | 3 |
| Do. (children under 5 years of age) | 5 | 36 |
| Pneumonia | 2 | 12 |
| Do. (children under 5 years of age) | 14 | 127 |
| Pemphigus Neonatorum | 2 | 26 |
| Poliomyelitis | — | — |
| Puerperal Fever | — | — |
| Puerperal Pyrexia | 1 | 8 |
| Ophthalmia Neonatorum or slight inflamma | ||
| tion of eyes | 20 | 396 |
| Tuberculosis | 23 | 1,495 |
| Whooping Cough | — | — |
| Do. (children under 5 years of age) | 3 | 44 |
| Other Ailments | 1 | 16 |
| Do. (children under 5 years of age) | 164 | 2,240 |
| Totals | 261 | 4,689 |
HOME HELPS' SERVICE.
Under the Council's scheme Home Helps are provided for
(a) maternity and child welfare cases—that is, cases in
which domestic service is required during the lying-in
period of a mother, or for families containing children
under five years of age;
(i) other cases in which domestic service is required by
reason of sickness or infirmity.
Very full use was again made during the year of the services
of the Home Helps, although it was found necessary towards the
end of the year to limit the service provided, and the following
measures were taken:—
(i) Home help assistance was withdrawn from persons unable
to produce medical certificates certifying that they needed
continuous assistance.
(ii) Aged and infirm persons who had been receiving assistance
for some time, had the amount of time allowed reduced
from 12 or 8 hours to 8 or 4 hours respectively, thus
allowing the Home Help who attended them to take on
another case. A certain amount of hardship arose in this
group, and in some cases it was necessary to revert to the
former allowance.