Report of the Working Party on the Recruitment and Training of Nurses.

Date:
1947
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Working Party on the Recruitment and Training of Nurses. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    15/132 (page 7)
    by the Board of Control, there were in 1938 about 21,600 nurses, trained and others, in mental hospitals in England and Wales. No corresponding figures are available for mental deficiency institutions. We have therefore assumed, on the basis of the number of beds, that there were in 1938, as at the end of 1945, approximately 3,400 nurses of all kinds in mental deficiency institutions in England and Wales. The true figure may possibly have been less in view of the increase in occupied beds since 1938. The total nursing strength of mental hospitals and institutions in England and Wales in 1938 has, therefore, been estimated at about 25,000. If the ratio of trained to other nurses was similar in 1938 to what it was in 1946, the figure of 25,000 includes about 13,400 trained nurses. If we add the 1938 figures of nursing strength in Scottish mental hospitals and institutions, z.e., 1,900 trained and 2,400 other nurses, the totals for Great Britain amounted to about 15,300 trained and about 14,000 other nurses. The figures for 1945 are based on returns to the Working Party from a random sample of mental hospitals and institutions in Great Britain. The sample covered about 33 per cent. of the hospitals and about 20 per cent. of the institutions. 6. Industrial Nurses. The estimated numbers of industrial nurses in 1938 and 1945 are based on figures given in the 1943 and 1944 Reports of the Chief Inspector of Factories. The actual figures quoted in these reports relate only to the years 1943 and 1944. 7. Schools. The figures relate to all schools under the Ministry of Education and the Scottish Education Department and, in so far as part-time nurses are employed, refer to whole-time equivalents. An unknown proportion of untrained nurses are included in the figure for trained nurses in 1945. 8 and 9. Nurseries and Health Visitors. The figures are provided by the Ministry of Health and the Department of Health for Scotland. 10. District Nurses and Midwives. The figures include district nurses, district nurse-midwives, village nurse-midwives, and domiciliary midwives. The figure given for 1945 relates strictly to the end of 1944 when there were 8,000 district nurses, nurse-midwives and village nurse-midwives. In addition there were about 6,000 domiciliary midwives. 11 and 12. Children’s Homes. The figures are provided by the Ministry of ° Health. | 13, 14 and 15. Ministry of Pensions’ Hospitals, Colonial Nursing Services and Missions. The figures are based on returns to the Working Party from the Ministry of Pensions, the Colonial Office, and the Conference of Missionary Societies. 16. Other Civilian Nursing. The figures are provided by the Home Office, for nurses employed in prisons, and by U.N.R.R.A. for nurses employed by that organisation. 17. Armed Forces. The figures are provided by the three Service Departments.