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.
90/284 (page 64)
![20 April, 1926.] dificult to refuse them registration. Supposing once they had started, it would be very difficult to refuse registration to others of that sort, would it not?—lI think you would say that you must have somebody trained on duty in the day and somebody trained on duty at night, but the cottage hospitals now are very apt to have a trained matron and per- haps one trained on the staff, and if they get any more patients then they get in who they can to help. They cannot help themselves, train probationers, you see. 972. They cannot train and of course they cannot get trained nurses to do that work P—No. 973. It is also a fact that in a cottage hospital it would be impossible, even if you paid for them, to get a trained nurse to do the junior work of a hospital ?— Yes, but I would like to try and enforce that there is somebody trained on duty when there are cases in. It is rather the fear of the future, knowing how things are in the rural counties. An Act is passed for one thing, and it is not quite seen how it is going to affect our sparingly populated places. Mr. Cecil Wilson. 974. In your first point you say: “‘A power for the registration of nursing homes in rural counties is much needed.’’ Are you distinguishing at all between cases in which there are one or two patients and larger homes, or would you have them all registered ?—I am taking it all; you could not select; but it is because of the single room that we wanted it so badly. a i 975. You have a good deal of that in Wiltshire P—A very great deal. 976. Has complaint come to you in regard to those places ?’—Yes. From time to time we have had difficulties, but of course as the local authority we only come in when it is a midwifery case. 977. With regard to the patients, in most of the cases where you are thinking ‘of registration being required, it is those who are only able to pay a comparatively small fee ?—Yes. 978. As regards your cottage hospitals, you have a considerable number in the county P—Yes. 979. Differing very much from our urban areas ?—Yes. 980. They are run by the subscribers— really a committee of subscribers ?—Yes. They are by way of being run by a com- [ Continued. mittee of subscribers. I think sometimes they are entirely in the hands of one or two doctors. 981. Would there be objection in those cases to registration if the whole hos- pital were registered?—I think if they wanted to keep up the standard they would not object; the ones who wanted to. be below standard would. 982. Have you nursing homes which are really run by doctors—medical men’s nursing homes—in the same way as we have in some of our large cities?—Yes. 983. What would you say about regis- tration of those?—I think they certainly ought to be included. 984. With what object?—I know it has been suggested that the doctors’ homes should be left out, but it would naturally follow that a doctor could cover even a woman who was letting a single room; he could say it was his home, unless you included all nursing homes. We all know that under the Midwives Act there is still a certain amount of ‘‘ covering,’’ and I always fancy that laws are made to keep up the standard. What we fear in the county is ‘‘ covering.’’ 985. With regard to the conditions in cottage hospitals, generally speaking, there is not much complaint, is there?— No: I do not know that there is much complaint. 986. Only that they may be short of short... of trained: nurses. 987. There will be times when these cottage homes would have almost no patients in at all, and times when they would have many patients?—Yes; that is the real difficulty with them. 988. What happens in those cases when they have a large number of patients ?— Then they get in what help they can. 989. And sometimes that help is not a trained nurse?—No. 990. But they are always obliged to have some trained?—Yes; I think our Committee would always see to that, but I do know they have got down to having a trained matron. - : Major Price. 991. Have yon received any complaints in respect of any nursing homes in your county ?—To me personally as Chairman of the Public Health Committee, or as. a private individual? 992. Wither ?—Yes, privately I have. 993. What has been the nature of the complaint; what has been the dissatis~](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32170051_0090.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
