Annual report on the medical services / Sierra Leone.

  • Sierra Leone. Medical Department
Date:
[1955]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the medical services / Sierra Leone. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    (ii) to make recommendations concerning the comfort and well-being of patients; (iii) to make recommendations concerning the development of the Medical Service as far as it relates to patients; and (iv) to make recommendations regarding the dieting of patients. 9. During the year, the salaries of all Government staff were revised and are competitive with those of other West African terri¬ tories. The salaries of senior posts (Senior Medical Officer grade and above) have been consolidated; this means that there is no difference in these higher grades between the pay of expatriate and African officers. 10. Health Centres.—Under Colonial Development and Welfare Scheme D 866, 20 health centres were to be built for the Protectorate, each staffed by a dispenser, midwife and health inspector. All but two of these have now been completed, and they are being staffed. 11. Under Colonial Development and Welfare Scheme D 1641 two larger types of centre were to be provided for the Colony at Waterloo and York. Waterloo has been opened, York is complete except for quarters which will soon be ready. 12. UNICEF aid has been received for equiping these centres. Recruitment and Training of Staff 13. The recruitment of students to the three training schools has been good during the year 1955. 106 student nurses and midwives and 23 health inspectors-in-training were recruited during the year. The new scheme for training of health inspectors was commenced in May, 1955. and the training school was moved from Freetown to Bo as envisaged in last year’s Report. 14. Nurses were trained at the Connaught and Bo hospitals during the year and with the availability of staff it was possible for regular courses of lectures to be given. The main problem is the high percentage of wastage among students who leave the Service early in their career to pursue further training as nurses in the United Kingdom. While this problem exists, the Department is faced with the difficulty of providing an adequate number of trained junior nurses for service in the various institutions. 15. Midwives were trained at the Maternity Hospital, Freetown, and at Bo and are entitled to local registration after successfully sit¬ ting the Midwives Examination. Twelve Government candidates and one private took the midwifery certificate and were registered as midwives. 16. Dispensers were trained at the Connaught Hospital and licences granted after they successfully passed the examination. Five Government candidates passed the Druggists Examination this year and were awarded the certificate. 17. Health inspectors were trained in Bo during the year and the course extends over a period of three years before the final examination is taken. One health inspector attempted the examination for the R.S.I. Certificate (West Africa) and was successful. 18. A new class of village maternity assistants for service with Native Administrations was created and 50 women were enrolled for training in hospitals and health centres for service in their chiefdom.
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