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16
CARE OF THE ELDERLY
Camberwell was one of the first local authorities to
take an active interest in the growing problems of the
welfare of old people. From the start, the emphasis h as
been laid on the need for a co-ordination of the efforts
of the many statutory and voluntary bodies who have a part
to play.
Surveys of the home circumstances and the unmet need
of the elderly conducted by the department and published,
(1950, 1957 & 1959) provided essential information. Thi s
knowledge enabled a progressive scheme to be built up
which has aroused interest in other parts of the country
and abroad. It has been a pleasure to exchange information
on this subject with many visitors from other authoriti es
and countries.
The results of investigations of home accidents among
old folk (also published) gave a guide to preventi ve
measures. The finding that a third of old people had lost
their sense of smell, and that another third had a marked
impairment of this sense led to special efforts to prevent
accidental coal-gas poisoning. These matters were the
subject of a paper read by the Medical Officer of Health
at the Convention on Accidents held by the Royal College
of Surgeons during the year. The suggestion that local
health authorities should provide fireguards on loan was
made by this Council some years ago.
The appointment of state registered nurses to undertake,
inter alia, the visiting of old people, has proved of
inestimable value. The care and welfare of the aged is
becoming more demanding, imposing a steadily increasing
responsibility on the local authority. In 1961, the number
of visits made to old people by the Council's visitors was
837, whereas in 1962, this had increased to 1,409, and
during the year under review the figure rose to 1,761. It
will be appreciated that the amount of time spent on such
visits varies very considerably according to the cir cum stances
of the old person concerned and the duties are not
limited to a purely domiciliary social visit. There are
many occasions when help is needed which falls outside the
normal scope of duty. For example, handicapped old P e ople
have been collected from their homes and taken by the
Visitors in their own cars to the U.G.S. Settlement to
enable them to be taken away for a holiday. On one occasion
an old man dying of cancer expressed a wish to see