Annual report of the Mendip Hospital Management Committee : 1949.

  • Mendip Hospital Management Committee.
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Mendip Hospital Management Committee : 1949. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/20 (page 14)
    registered in mental nursing, 37 per cent, .only of the women nurses are so qualified. Amongst the 555 female patients almost half are over 60 years of age, and 119 of these are over 70. Such patients require in many instances not only mental but general nursing care. Although the male staff are numerically so much stronger they are said to be 10 below the full complement. Recruitment of male staff generally is much handicapped by lack of living quarters. Not only do unmarried male nurses sleep on the Wards but also do a number of the artizan staff. No male occupation officer can be found owing to the Hospital not being in a position to offer accommodation. Dr. McGarvey finds it impossible to start a Preliminary Training School for Nurses because the services of a Sister Tutor are so difficult to obtain, and no Male Tutor will accept the post because there is no house available. I gather that at least a dozen Staff Cottages are urgently required. Occupation Therapy continues to make progress here, and there are now two whole-time women therapists, one of whom devotes her whole time to classes in the wards, and the other to work in the Centre which is situated in Villa 10. The mortality rate for 1948 was 7.1 per cent. (9.6 M. 4.9 F). and 56 patients died, (29 M, 27 F). Post Mortem examinations were made in 5 instances only. Since the last visit only one inquest has been held, full particulars of which have already been furnished to my Board. Seven of the deaths were due to tuberculosis, (5 M, 2 F). Last year 7 cases, (6 M, 1 F), were notified, and since the beginning of 1949 there has been one further case in a male patient. At the present time 4 male patients are suffering from tuberculosis, 3 of them are pulmonary cases. The present lack of facilities for nursing tuberculosis on the male side of the Hospital is well known and gives rise to concern. There are plans before the Regional Board for building a Sanitorium at this Hospital, and making it the centre for the Region. So far this Hospital has not been visited by the Mass X-ray Unit. There is no patient suffering from either dysentery or enteric at the present time, and there has been no case of either disease during the past 18 months. There are, however, 26 males and 102 females in widely distributed wards who remain on dysentery caution cards, and 3 female typhoid carriers are segregated in the female isolation Ward—Ward 2. Since the last visit there have been 16 serious but non-fatal casualties involving fractures of bones. In 14 cases the injured were women. Diagnosis was in each case confirmed by X-Ray examination.