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further powers to enable them to deal expeditiously with certain
cases of aged persons in need of care and attention which they
are unable to provide for themselves and are not receiving from
other people. Where the Medical Officer of Health and another
registered medical practitioner certify in the case of a person
to whom Section 47 (1) of the National Assistance Act, 1948,
applies, that it is necessary in their opinion that he or she should
be removed without delay from the premises in which they are
residing, an application for a removal order may be made to the
appropriate court of summary jurisdiction or to a single justice
without giving the person whose removal it is desired to secure,
or the person in charge of him or her, the seven clear days'
notice required by Section 47 (7) of the 1948 Act; and the
court or the justice may if necessary act ex parte.
An order made under this new procedure, however, may
only authorise a person's detention in a suitable institution for
a period not exceeding three weeks. Any application for an
order extending this period by not more than three months from
time to time must be made in accordance with the provisions of
Section 47 of the Act of 1948.
The Council authorised the Medical Officer of Health to
make applications in cases to which the amending Act applies
but fortunately it did not become necessary for such emergency
action to be taken in respect of any person during 1951.
Infestation by Head Lice.
As a result of a communication received from the Divisional
Medical Officer, London County Council, drawing attention to a
number of school children who were repeatedly required by the
Education Authority to attend at this Council's Cleansing
Station for treatment for head lice infestation, the Medical
Officer of Health reported to the Public Health Committee
suggesting that the families of the children concerned should be
invited to co-operate in terminating these unsatisfactory conditions.
For this purpose, it was suggested that for an experimental
period of six months, a suitable hair emulsion should
be provided free of charge to each of these families, together with
a tactful letter recommending its use by all members of the family
as a preventive measure.
The Committee agreed to this proposal and with the approval
of the Ministry of Local Government and Planning the parents
of 65 children were issued with the emulsion. At the end of
six months a review of the situation revealed that 23 of the
children were satisfactory, six showed a definite improvement
but were still infested and 36 had again been referred to the
Cleansing Station (of these 15 were still frequent attenders).