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Falls account for fifty-eight per cent of the fatal home accidents
and no less than ninety per cent of these relate to the elderly. In
Bermondsey five men and two women died as the result of falls;
four of these were sustained by persons over 80 and another by a
person aged 72.
Coal gas poisoning also constitutes a particular hazard for the
elderly whose sense of smell is impaired. Unfortunately, it was
also the means by which four people committed suicide.
Although burns account for ten per cent of the accidents in the
home and fifty-eight per cent of these are among old people, no
deaths due to burns have occurred in the Borough.
During the year one accident occurred which profoundly
shocked many people. A small boy, aged 2, playing on a bomb
site was decapitated when a section of wall fell on him. Subsequently,
the property adjoining, which had, on many occasions been the
subject of complaint, was demolished.
There was a considerable increase in the number of suicides
occurring in 1958. Although domestic coal gas was the predominant
method, other means employed included barbiturate poisoning,
hanging, jumping from a height and a self-inflicted stab wound.
National Assistance Act 1948
Section 47
Under this section of the Act, the Council are authorised to
apply for a Court Order for the removal to hospital, or institution,
of an aged, infirm, or physically incapacitated person whose living
conditions are insanitary. The National Assistance (Amendment)
Act 1951 also makes provision for a magistrate to order the emergency
removal of such persons to an institution for a period not
exceeding twenty-one days, on certification by the Medical Officer
of Health and a general practitioner.
During the year, 13 persons were persuaded, in their own
interests, to enter institutions voluntarily and only in the case of one
old lady, aged 87, was it considered necessary to make application
for a committal order. During the course of regular visits it had
become increasingly evident that this old person, who was living alone
and had no known relatives, was incapable of caring for herself
adequately. When the committal order expired the old lady
decided to remain in the home to which she had been admitted.
Fortunately, it is rarely necessary for such action to be taken and it
is only resorted to when there is no alternative and all persuasive
efforts have failed.
B