London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Bexley 1970
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bexley]
This page requires JavaScript
Continued from previous page...
| AGE GROUP AND SOURCE | MALE | FEMALE | TOTALS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Authority Homes | Voluntary Homes | Local Authortity Homes | Voluntary Homes | ||
| RESIDENTIAL HOMES 65-74 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 75-84 | 1 | ||||
| 2 | |||||
| NONE OF THESE PLACES 65-74 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 75-84 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| TOTALS | 26 | 19 | 50 | 1 | 96 |
About 20 per cent of local authority residents and 10 per cent of voluntary home residents
had some difficulty regarding continence, females being affected more than males. The details are
as follows
CONTINENCE DIFFICULTIES
| AGE GROUP | MALE | FEMALE | TOTALS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Authority Homes | Voluntary Homes | Local Authority Homes | Voluntary Homes | ||
| 50-64 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 65-74 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
| 75-84 | 6 | 1 | 22 | 29 | |
| 85 or over | 4 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 21 |
| TOTALS | 11 | 9 | 36 | 2 | 58 |
The state of mobility was also assessed and 63 per cent were found to be ambulant without
assistance or only required assistance on stairways. 75 per cent of male residents had this degree of
mobility compared with 50 per cent of female residents and this difference extended into the
oldest age group.
A lesser degree of mobility might be expected amongst local authority residents because of
the presence in local authority homes of more women aged 85 years or over and also because
practically all of the residents in voluntary homes in all age groups were men; in fact 56 per cent of
local authority residents had this degree of mobility compared with 75 per cent amongst voluntary
home residents. The fact that this percentage difference persists when the oldest age group is
excluded appears to confirm a general sex difference in this respect. Details of mobility are shown
as follows
110