[Report 1946] / Medical Officer of Health, Worcestershire / County of Worcester County Council.

  • Worcestershire (England). County Council.
Date:
1946
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1946] / Medical Officer of Health, Worcestershire / County of Worcester County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Ambulance facilities. The civil ambulance provision for both infectious and non- infectious illness was supplemented during the war by the Emergency Ambulance Service maintained by the County Council. The latter service is now very considerably reduced but at the request of the Ministry of Health certain duties are still undertaken on their behalf through the direction of Mr. G. L. Pitt, County Ambulance Officer, and a skeleton staff. The war-time extension of the civilian ambulance service, including ambulances based on Tenbury, Pershore, Upton-on-Severn and Stourport-on-Severn has been maintained, although it seems possible that the Upton-on- Severn arrangements will shortly be discontinued; these ambulances were provided by the Joint Committee of the B.R.C.S. and Order of St. John. The Hospital Car Service, for sitting cases has worked well at Worcester and. Kidderminster, in both instances the Voluntary Hospitals concerned, operating the service on terms agreed between the W.V.S., the County Council and the Hospital. The Emergency Ambulance Service dealt with several convoys of Service patients arriving at the Worcester railhead during the early months of 1946. Throughout the year there were a large number of calls for the transfer of hospital patients, and. in con¬ nection with the collection and transfer of medical equipment belonging to the Ministry or the Local Authority valuable assistance was given. Following the passing of the National Health Service Act 1946, a preliminary survey of ambulances, garages and depots in the County was commenced. Nursing in the Home. This service is provided entirely by voluntary Associations although they receive grants in aid from the County Council. The Nursing Associations cover the whole administrative area of the Worcestershire County Council, and employ 108 nurses a few of whom undertake district nursing duties alone, the majority having combined duties. It is estimated that the equivalent of 42 whole¬ time district nurses were employed on the domiciliary nursing service during the year 1946. Clinics and Treatment Centres. References to these activities will be found under their respective headings. Hospitals—Public and Voluntary. Worcestershire has continued to rely on the Voluntary Hospitals for the bulk of the acute medical and surgical work required. Grants have been made by the County Council towards the upkeep of Voluntary Hospitals over a period of years.