1945 Footage of District Nurse

[james01]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8P8m7t6Jp0

Imagine trying to persuade modern medics to do their rounds like this!

[reohn2]

Different time,different world.

[cotswolds]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8P8m7t6Jp0

Imagine trying to persuade modern medics to do their rounds like this!

I recall talking to a GP (from Epsom, I think) who did his home visits by bike - he said it was quicker.

St Johns Ambulance often have paramedics on bikes at big events.

https://twitter.com/sjalondoncru/status/1049350790169731072

Medics tend to be focussed on the quickest most efficient way of doing things, and in crowded places, that's often a bike.

[Carlton green]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8P8m7t6Jp0

Imagine trying to persuade modern medics to do their rounds like this!

I suspect that the purpose of the film was to persuade Nurses to take such roles in 1945, a form of advert. (Edit. Spelling corrected.)

That bike doesn’t look ideal to me, single speed gets you about but also sees you walking a lot. Nice weather too, but all weathers riding can’t have been much fun. It was a different world then and certainly had aspects that few today would want to return to.

Medics are organised differently now (many people working from one central hub and ‘efficiently’ traveling many miles by car) and home visits are rare (I don’t think my doctor does them any more and I’ve never heard of a district nurse visiting for minor ailments).

For urban areas I’d have thought a bike could be ideal, however I suspect that today’s Doctors and Nurses carry some ‘specialist’ and ‘just in case’ items in their cars that could be difficult or burdensome to transport by an ordinary bicycle.

[ambodach]

There used to be a GP in the west end of Glasgow who did home visits on a recumbent. I remember seeing him one day in I think Knightswood. His name was Dr Lean but cannot remember his first name.

[mercalia]

ah the good olde days with that infuriating BBC accent you always heard on films from those days. Does that accent still exist? Cant say I have heard it any where? any one place it? did they go extinct?

[peetee]

Ah ha. That bike looks very much like the Hercules I have, even down to the chrome-less bars and crankset. Does anyone know if the health service back then owned these bike in the same way the Post Office did?

[TrevA]

Shades of Call the Midwife. Interesting that she had the use of a car but still did most of her visits by bike.

We still have District nurses. I had a few visit when I was ill a couple of years ago. Sadly they now travel by car.

[peetee]

Shades of Call the Midwife. Interesting that she had the use of a car but still did most of her visits by bike.

Petrol rationing, I expect.

[horizon]

I suspect that the purpose of the film was to pursued Nurses to take such roles in 1945, a form of advert.

The only pursued nurses IICR came later in the Ealing comedies.

[LollyKat]

There used to be a GP in the west end of Glasgow who did home visits on a recumbent. I remember seeing him one day in I think Knightswood. His name was Dr Lean but cannot remember his first name.

I remember a GP in Glasgow in the 1980-90s riding a recumbent - his name was Colin but I can't remember the rest. Maybe the same one?

[crankypeddler]

Don't worry folks. When petrol and diesel vehicles are banned, we will all be back to the good old bike! That's unless we have other forms of transport are invented. I wait in anticipation. Toodle pip.

[roger]

In 1964 and 65 my wife was a District Nurse working for EssexCC on the edge of Ilford.
Not having a licence she rode a Ladies Rudge. This had one of those heavy duty black steel rear rack with a large spring clip. We attached her tools of the trade to this, they were contained in a galvanised steel box about !5"x8"x8". She had 6 large steel syringes, scissors, forceps , pots of this and that and a supply of various bandage and strapping.The box itself was carried in made to measure canvas bag with a handle.between patients this was held to the carrier by the large clip and some old toe straps.
Her rounds were relatively flat, but when stopping and remounting she had to be aware of the weight on the rack pulling the bike over. After a few grazes she mastered the art.
As far as I know all the nurses bought their own means of transport.More recently, I seem to recall that a lot of district and health visitors bought/leased VW Polos. At that time the "Beastie Boys" group used the VW badge as part of their regalia and their more avid fans would remove nurse VW badges when their cars were parked outside patients' houses. EVidently, when this became known the group replaced the missing badges when given the nurse's details.

[roger]

In 1964 and 65 my wife was a District Nurse working for EssexCC on the edge of Ilford.
Not having a licence she rode a Ladies Rudge. This had one of those heavy duty black steel rear rack with a large spring clip. We attached her tools of the trade to this, they were contained in a galvanised steel box about !5"x8"x8". She had 6 large steel syringes, scissors, forceps , pots of this and that and a supply of various bandage and strapping.The box itself was carried in made to measure canvas bag with a handle.between patients this was held to the carrier by the large clip and some old toe straps.
Her rounds were relatively flat, but when stopping and remounting she had to be aware of the weight on the rack pulling the bike over. After a few grazes she mastered the art.
As far as I know all the nurses bought their own means of transport.More recently, I seem to recall that a lot of district and health visitors bought/leased VW Polos. At that time the "Beastie Boys" group used the VW badge as part of their regalia and their more avid fans would remove nurse VW badges when their cars were parked outside patients' houses. EVidently, when this became known the group replaced the missing badges when given the nurse's details.

[PDQ Mobile]

I suspect that the purpose of the film was to pursued Nurses to take such roles in 1945, a form of advert.

The only pursued nurses IICR came later in the Ealing comedies.

But a tradition that continued on right up to the present day.
Certainly in Oxford in the 70's, where many nurse train, there was much hot pursuit.
I bought a decent racer!