Report from the Select Committee on Nursing Homes (Registration).
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Nursing Homes (Registration)
- Date:
- 1926
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Report from the Select Committee on Nursing Homes (Registration). Source: Wellcome Collection.
74/284 (page 48)
![15 April, 1926. | trained in that?P—I do not know. Of course, Christian Science treatment is so different from medical treatment. 614. A person either can pass water or cannot pass water; supposing a person cannot pass water?—Our treatment alleviates that, you see. 615. It enables them to pass it?—Oh yes, absolutely. 616. Even if there is struction P—Absolutely ; moved. 617. So you would never train a nurse to pass a catheter, for instance P—Well, no; that is medical training. 618. That would never be admitted as part of your treatment ?—No; that is not a Christian Science treatment, you see. We rely solely on Christian Science treat- 619. You would not call it a part of nursing to be able to do that?—No, not in the training that they would get in the sanatorium in Boston. a complete ob- 620. In the care of semi-mental cases or advanced nerve cases, do you admit that there is any need for special train- ing for the nurse, or is it your business simply to feed, and, I suppose, wash the patient; you admit that they would wash their patientsP—Of course, a Christian Scientist practitioner or a Christian Science nurse is an expert in the treat- ment of mental conditions. 621. I am speaking now of the physical conditions, such as the actual nursing of a sick patient or the nursing of a helpless patient, we will say?—That would be done by a Christian Science nurse, of course. 622. They would do the washing ?—Yes, certainly. 623. And the feeding P—Yes, absolutely. 624. In the case of one who is mentally feeble and so on, would you admit that there was anything to be obtained in the way of knowledge in the diagnosis of such a case and so on from the point of view of the nurse?—Well, the nurse is a Chris- tian Scientist. 625. She must be, therefore, able to treat?—She must be a Christian Scientist. 626. She must. be a _ professor P—Of course, she knows how to treat, but there is a practitioner in the case. The prac- titioner is the one that is treating the case. . [ Continued. The nurse is doing the actual nursing of the case. 628. Suppose in a home of this kind you had an outbreak of infectious -dis- ease; do you admit that there might be such an outbreak of an infectious disease? —Yes—well, a doctor would be called in at once on the slightest suspicion. 629. Who would decide that it was an infectious disease to start with?—The 630. Supposing the doctor had not seen the case, how would you know it was an infectious disease ?—The nurses that have had training in that sort of thing would know pretty well if there is a suspicion of that sort, and would call in a doctor at 631. But they have had no experience have them in the home?—We do not take in infectious cases, but we call in a doctor if anything suspicious of that sort should break out. 632. But they could never have had any experience of it in their training. Sup- posing you had an outbreak of measles, for instance; is there anybody there who has ever seen a case of measles in their training ?—Well, common sense would tell you. 633. (Whether a person has got measles or not is not quite a question of common sense. You would not admit that it was necessary to have any training in the diagnosis of ordinary diseases, or to have such a person in charge of a large body of people who were under treatment ?— We do not diagnose disease, you see. 634. Who is going to do the diagnosis in an institution where you may have an outbreak?—Well, that is done by a doctor. If there is anything suspicious whatever, there is a doctor called in. 635. Is he then enabled to deal with the question of the whole body of the people who are there at that time?—He would have to. We have never had a' case yet of any infectious disease breaking out. 636. You are very lucky ?P—It would be supposition if I told you anything. Chairman. 637. They must have had something at Boston with all that organisation ?>—They have never had a case of infectious disease breaking out. Sir Richard Luce.] I am afraid it means that they have not spotted it then. eee ee](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32170051_0074.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
