[Report 1957] / Medical Officer of Health, Edinburgh City.

  • Edinburgh (Scotland). City Council
Date:
1957
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1957] / Medical Officer of Health, Edinburgh City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Almoner The evolution of the profession of almoning has tended to connect the Almoner with the solving of medico-social problems associated with the hospital patient only and the fact that similar difficulties arise in general practice is sometimes forgotten. Not only can assistance by the Almoner be invaluable to the family doctor, but her work in the domiciliary field has many advantages. She sees the patient against his natural home background and has the constant guidance of the doctor with his intimate knowledge of his patient’s medical, social and emotional needs. Moreover, she can give a continuity of service often denied the Almoner whose activities are restricted to the hospital sphere. It is encouraging to find, therefore, that within recent years general practitioners in the city are coming to recognise more and more the help they can obtain from the Almoner in the Public Health Department. During 1957, of the 443 cases dealt with, no less than 195 were referred by family doctors. This is an increase of 34 over last year’s figure and 106 more than in 1955. Another important aspect of the Almoner working in the public health sphere is the part she can play in co-ordinating the help of other statutory and voluntary services directed towards assisting the patient. The informal meetings held from time to time with other social workers in the city and with the members of the general practitioners’ unit have done much to sort out what each member of the team can contribute to the patients’ welfare. The once-weekly visits to Sighthill Health Centre started last year have con- tinued and 58 patients were referred for help in 1957. Domiciliary Midwifery There is no change to report in the arrangements for domiciliary midwifery in the city—the local health authority duties being undertaken by 15 full-time midwives directly employed by the Corporation and by agency arrangements with the Queen’s Institute of District Nursing and the Simpson Memorial Maternity Hospital. Home confinements amounted to 1,383, being 52 more than last year and representing 17.6% of the total births to Edinburgh citizens. Corporation mid- wives attended 928 or 67% of all births at home ; Simpson Memorial Maternity Hospital midwives attended 234, and the Queen’s Institute of District Nursing 139. Of the remaining 82 home confinements, 58 were undertaken by the staff of the Elsie Inglis Maternity Hospital, 13 by private maternity nurses, 5 by a medical practitioner only and the remaining 6 had neither a doctor nor midwife in atten- dance. The introduction of the approved apparatus for the administration of trilene mentioned in last year’s report, has allowed the increased use of this analgesic. Thus of the 1,925 analgesics given at home confinements in 1957, trilene was used in no less than 902 instances. The organisation of the maternity services in Scotland is at present under review by a Committee set up in the latter part of 1956 by the Scottish Health Services Council. It is expected that its report, which is awaited with interest,, will be issued next year.
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