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Domiciliary Cleansing
Arrangements have been made whereby old people's living
accommodation and household articles are cleansed and, if
necessary, disinfested. The Regional Hospital Boards, the
London County Council and the Kensington Council of Social
Service co-operate by providing temporary accommodation, where
necessary, while the old people's belongings are being dealt
with at the disinfecting station. Forty-five old people were
dealt with in 1954.
Cleansing of Old People
One of the problems arising in the work of caring for old
people is the number of old people found to be living alone
and suffering from personal uncleanliness. They are not sick
but merely feeble or senile, and occasionally they are found
to be verminous. Some of them are dirty through lack of selfinterest,
but others are acutely conscious of their inability
to maintain a reasonable standard of cleanliness. There are
some who live in the older tenement houses which are not provided
with baths and bathrooms, and they are unable to go to the public
baths because of incapacity.
The powers of the Council to cleanse persons were limited
to verminous or suspected verminous persons (apart from special
provision for common lodging houses. ) These powers were not so
wide as those for dealing with the cleansing of articles.
Representations were made to the Metropolitan Boroughs '
Standing Joint Committee who agreed that it was desirable for
extended powers to be given to metropolitan borough councils
to provide for the cleansing of persons in such a filthy, dirty
or unwholesome condition that their health is affected or
endangered, subject to the person's consent being obtained.
The London County Council were approached and agreed to
promote legislation to this effect. On 31st July, 1953, Royal
Assent was given to the London County Council (General Powers)
Act, 1953, Section 43 of which provides that -
1. Where it appears to a sanitary authority upon
a report from the medical officer of health or
a sanitary inspector for their district that
any aged person within their district -
(a) is verminous or is for any other reason
in need of cleansing in order to prevent
injury or the danger of injury to health;
and
(b) is so enfeebled that he is unable to avail
himself of any facilities for cleansing
himself provided by the authority under
any enactment or to cleanse himself properly;
the authority may on the application or with the
consent of that person (but not otherwise) cause
him to be cleansed free of charge at the place
where he resides or at any other suitable place.
2. A sanitary authority may make all such arrangements
and provide all such apparatus and things
as may be necessary for the convenient exercise
of the powers conferred by the foregoing sub-section.
3. This section shall be read and construed as one
with Part III of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936.
The Council authorised the Medical Officer of Health to