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The
clinical support worker
, who has done a short course and
obtained basic qualifications, and the
nursing auxiliary
, who is usual-
ly unqualified, both assist nursing staff. There may also be
ward
clerks,
whose duties include making sure patients’ notes and infor-
mation are up to date, and answering the telephone. Like doctors,
nurses can specialize:
1. A
midwife
has specialized from the beginning by doing a course
in midwifery, the management of pregnancy and childbirth.
2. District nurses visit patients in their homes.
3. Health visitors also work in the community, giving advice on the
promotion of health and the prevention of illness.
The nurse’s role has changed considerably in recent years. In ad-
dition to general patient care, checking temperatures, pulse rates and
blood pressures, changing dressings, giving injections and removing
sutures, some of the things previously reserved for doctors, such as
prescribing drugs, and ordering laboratory tests are now performed by
nurses.
When it comes to recovery care and corrective treatment, other
members of the team with special expertise come into the picture.
These are professionals such as physiotherapists (physios) which help
people to move by getting them to do exercises or by treating their
body with heat or massage – treatment by manipulating muscles and
joints with the hands); occupational therapists (OTs) help with a disa-
bility to perform tasks at home and at work (a disability is a physical
or mental condition that makes it difficult to live normally, for exam-
ple blindness or deafness); social workers help people to solve their
social problems – for example poor housing or unemployment – or
family problems.
Hospitals also employ dentists, pharmacists, opticians, laboratory
technicians, and administrative staff. The whole structure is kept go-
ing by the ancillary staff – the porters, cleaners, and kitchen staff who,
in their turn are supported by volunteers – an important force of indi-
viduals whose contribution to the effectiveness of a hospital is often
underestimated.
Consultant physicians and surgeons are responsible for a specific
number of patients in the hospital. Each consultant has a team of jun-
ior doctors to help care for those patients. In many hospitals, there are