Annual report : 1946 / St. George's Hospital.

  • St George's Hospital
Date:
1946
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report : 1946 / St. George's Hospital. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The House Committee wish to express on behalf of the Gover¬ nors their most grateful thanks to all those who have supported the Hospital by subscriptions and donations and by organized events, and hope that this support will be continued up to the introduction of the National Health Service and afterwards though perhaps in a different form. The Hospital The programme adopted by the Governors in Policy and December, 1945, has been carried through, progress. When the new Nurses’ Home was opened in Earl’s Court Square in May, 1946, alterations were at once started on the top floor at St. George’s. These consisted of converting bedrooms in the south wing to provide a sick room for six nurses, two sitting-rooms and writing rooms ; re-designing and extending the changing and locker rooms to accommodate about 150 nurses, and converting the whole of the north wing into a maternity ward. Meanwhile alterations were made in the houses in Knights- bridge to give suitable alternative accommodation for the sisters. It was not a problem simply of providing alternative accommodation for the pre-war number of sisters and nurses. In 1938 there were 180 sisters and nurses, and in 1946 there were 250. These increases are due to the greater number of patients and more complex methods of treatment, changes in the methods of training nurses such as the “ block system,” and also to a reduction in the nurses’ hours of duty. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent opened the maternity ward on the 12th December, 1946. The ward consists of 30 beds ; 13 in single rooms of which six are available for private patients, one two bed ward, one of eight and one of seven. It has been used to capacity. This ward, and the alterations in nurses’ accommoda¬ tion, cost £5,900. The old operating theatres which had not been used since 1939 were completely re-designed at a cost of £2,250, and opened on 30th September, 1946. The note which follows is reproduced from St. George’s Hospital Gazette :— “ The general shortage of space, the unusual shape of the block, the differences in floor level, all have put difficulties in the way and have forced us to accept much less than could reasonably have been asked for. Nevertheless, much space has been gained and better working arrangements have been achieved.
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