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The Council's provision of home nursing equipment is supplemented
by the British Red Cross Society. In addition to commodes
and wheelchairs, the British Red Cross Society provides
smaller items of equipment such as air rings, bed pans, urine
bottles and crutches. The Council is continuing to make a grant to
the Society to assist in maintaining stocks of equipment.
Incontinence pads service
Home nursing of incontinent persons is made much easier by
means of this service and the number of patients being supplied
with incontinence pads has shown a substantial and continuing
growth in the last four years. During the year, a total of 78,200
pads were issued, which is nearly three times as many as in the
previous year. In addition, 96 persons were provided with protective
pants and interliners. Most households make their own
arrangements for disposal but in some cases it is necessary to
arrange for collection and disposal by incineration.
Home help service
The demands on this service have continued to increase. Recruitment
of staff has been slightly easier this year but there are still
areas within the Borough which require a great deal of service
but produce few staff. Consequently some home helps have to
undertake a considerable amount of travelling.
In September a male home help was appointed mainly to work
with the specially equipped mini-van. Although the van had not
been delivered by the end of the year, the home help has already
proved to be very successful. He was available at the time of the
floods and was able to assist with some of the cleaning-up required.
When the fully equipped van is available early in the new year,
we hope to be able to send a female home help with him so that
together they can tackle especially difficult tasks or carry out an
occasional "spring clean".
A resident companion was paid as a part-time home help so that
a young severely handicapped person could come out of hospital
and lead a more normal life in her own flat. Another example of
service provided is shown in plate A, centre pages.