Cottage hospitals, general, fever and convalescent : their progress, management and work : with an alphabetical list of every cottage hospital at present opened : and chapters on mortuaries, the relative mortality of large and small hospitals, and cottage hospitals in America : many plans and illustrations including a portrait of Albert Napper / by Henry C. Burdett.

  • Burdett Henry C. (Henry Charles), Sir, 1847-1920.
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cottage hospitals, general, fever and convalescent : their progress, management and work : with an alphabetical list of every cottage hospital at present opened : and chapters on mortuaries, the relative mortality of large and small hospitals, and cottage hospitals in America : many plans and illustrations including a portrait of Albert Napper / by Henry C. Burdett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    rooted is the prejudice to soap and water inherent in certain of the poor classes of our population, that we have known patients more than once (in each case a woman) leave the hospital and reject alltreatmentrather than submit to be placed in a hot bath. This strong prejudice must be overcome at all hazards, and when once a patient is admitted to the ward, care must be taken that he frequently (two or three times in each day) washes his hands, and that he has a bath at least once a week. With such rules as these the patients will be happier, and the wards will be a credit instead of a disgrace. Bed-making plays an important part in the daily routine of a nurse, as upon the careful arrangement of the pillows, sheets, and bed, depends in no small degree the comfort of a patient who is really ill, and his freedom from bed sores and like evils. When a nurse has a bad surgical case, with intermittent haemorrhage or profuse discharge, she must be careful to keep a clean mackintosh constantly under the wound, and to place a draw sheet over it. By this means it will be easy to keep the patient clean and sweet, nor will it be difficult to frequently change the draw sheet as occasion may require. When it is necessary to change the bed-clothes of a bed-ridden or nearly helpless patient, the following will be found an easy course to pursue.—Having the clean sheet ready, roll up the dirty under sheet as close to the patient as possible, then half roll up the clean sheet, and place the unrolled half over that portion of the