[Report 1948] / Medical Officer of Health, Edinburgh City.

  • Edinburgh (Scotland). City Council.
Date:
1948
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1948] / Medical Officer of Health, Edinburgh City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/274 (page 7)
    for health visitors with an enrolment of 36, and this should go far to maintain the flow of trained personnel. 7. Home Nursing. A new function of the local authority under the National Health Service Act is the provision of facilities for the nursing of the sick in their own homes. For this purpose the Corporation made arrangements with the Queen’s Institute of District Nursing and the Buccleuch Nursing Association under which payments were arranged for the services rendered to citizens by these bodies. The Queen’s Institute, which is a training school for domiciliary nurses, have a staff of about 72 trained nurses and candidates in training who make over 20,000 visits per month to about 1,100 patients throughout greater Edinburgh. The four nurses of the Buccleuch Association attend about 58 patients, to whom roughly 800 visits are made per month. In the few months during which these arrangements have functioned, it has become apparent that home nursing facilities should be extended as soon as a sufficiency of trained staff can be recruited. Particularly among elderly people is there a need for regular skilled attention. It is also desirable that nursing equipment such as beds, bedding, rubber sheeting, wheel chairs and other necessaries should be provided on a larger scale and kept in a central depot for loan to persons unable to provide them for themselves. As the years pass, the needs of an ageing population will be such that a well-organised scheme of home nursing will form a highly-important link in the public health service. 8. Domestic Help. Growing appreciation has been expressed about the Home Help Scheme since its inception in April 1945. During the past year 421 families received the services of a home help to tide them over an emergency. About 75 per cent, were confinement cases, and they received first claim on the staff available, but it was possible also to meet calls from others who, through illness, required someone to perform household duties for a short period. The establishment throughout the year was 30 home helps, and authority has since been given to increase it to 100. 9. Children’s Nurseries. During the year the Health Committee devoted much of their time to a consideration of the policy to be adopted in connection with children’s nurseries. Should the number be increased ? For what types of children should provision be made ? Which districts stand in greatest need of nursery accommodation ? These and other questions, including the financial aspects of the matter, were very carefully considered. In the end it was decided to initiate procedure for the setting-up of five additional nurseries, one each in Canongate and Bristo areas, two in the Stockbridge area and a large nursery or two small units in the Gorgie and Dairy district. Consultation will take place with the Education Committee for the purpose of co-ordinating the demands in any particular area, and first priority in admission is to be given where there are medical reasons affecting mothers and children. Children living under bad housing conditions and children with only one parent to care for them will also receive priority.