View report page

CARE OF THE ELDERLY.
There is a danger that older people may attribute their disabilities to old age alone
and are thus not motivated towards seeking treatment for remediable conditions. The
clinics for older people continue to be well attended and the length of the waiting list is
clearly an indication of the need for such clinics. Since normally every new patient
becomes a regular clinic attender it was only possible to see 189 new patients during the
year, as opposed to 278 in 1970 and in some cases patients had to wait more than nine
months for a first appointment.

* The sessions at Mortlake were held at fortnightly intervals from January to
March and were weekly for the remainder of the year.
A screening service is provided at these clinics for residents of the Borough over 55
years of age. Each patient, in addition to a comprehensive initial physical examination,
has a complete re-examination annually and is seen at intervals in between according to
need. The emotional health of older people is very important because depression readily
occurs in the older age group especially if living alone or physically handicapped, and
the Council was fortunate enough to have the services of Dr. Alfred Torrie, consultant
psychiatrist, at Kings Road Clinic, Richmond, the Maddison Clinic and the Day Clinic
at Stanley Road, Teddington. Dr. Torrie reports as follows: —
"During the year under review, apart from a short spell in hospital, I have
continued to see the Clinic patients who have emotional and psychological problems.
The commonest one is depression. It is confusing for medical men to differentiate
between the two types of depression. The constitutional, or endogenous, type
responds to the modern anti depressant medications. These generally take some
weeks to produce their effect. The other type is reactive to increasing infirmity, and
resentment at the inevitable ageing process. Old age reactivates previous personalityfeatures,
and with increasing physical infirmity, former traits are exaggerated.
"The group discussions at the Stanley Road Clinic have proved rewarding.
The patients are mainly housebound and have severe disabilities—crippled, blind
or nearly blind, and one is confined to a wheel chair. They are of all types of intelligence,
and some are more articulate than others. I am grateful to my colleague, the
physiotherapist Miss Caink, for assisting me in conducting this discussion group.
For many in this group the clinic day is their red letter day in the week."
The Day Clinic held weekly at Stanley Road, Teddington, has met a real need in
providing care and stimulation for patients considered by the examining doctors to require
more frequent visits to a clinic. Health visitors advised on all aspects of keeping well. A
physiotherapist was in attendance to give individual treatments and take simple
34