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Cases on register at the beginning of year 5,176
New cases added to register 640
Cases removed to hospitals 180
Cases removed to homes (voluntarily) 71
Cases removed to homes (compulsorily) 1
Cases removed from district 54
Number of deaths 534
Total number of cases remaining on register at end
of year 5,176
Number of old people sent away for holiday 76
Number of old people provided with Council's
laundry service 61
Number of old people provided with "Meals on Wheels" 340
Cases referred to National Assistance Board 221
Cases referred for assistance from Home Help
Department 188
Cases referred for assistance from Voluntary
Organisations 48
Cases referred to Recreational Clubs 185
Number of visits to chronic sick cases 565
Cases assisted with provision of medical and
nursing care 222
Cases referred to home chiropody service 198
Cases cleansed at Medicinal Baths 2
Cases where disinfestation was carried out 16
Number of initial home visits made 616
Number of re-visits 5,428
Number of other visits made in connection with old
people, including visits to clubs 106
Number of interviews, enquiries, etc. on behalf
of old people 1,845
Removal of old and infirm persons to institutions, etc.
Under Section 47 of the National Assistance Act, 1948, the
Council may apply to a Court for an order to remove to a suitable
institution any person who -
(a) is suffering from grave chronic disease, or
being aged, infirm or physically incapacitated,
is living in insanitary conditions, and
(b) is unable to devote to himself, or is not
receiving from other persons, proper care
and attention.
The National Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1951, amended
Section 47 of the National Assistance Act, 1948, and provided that
application for removal of urgent cases may be made by the local
authority or by the Medical Officer of Health, if authorised by the
Council to do so, without giving seven days' notice as previously
required. Such applications may be made either to a Court of Summary
Jurisdiction or to a single Justice, on a certificate by the Medical
Officer of Health and another registered medical practitioner. Further,
where the hospital or institution agree to receive the case, it is not
necessary to give seven days notice to the manager thereof.
Detention Orders made in respect of these urgent cases
are limited to three weeks, and if it is necessary to extend this time,
compliance must be made with the original requirements of Section 47*
Although many cases were investigated during the year, in
only one case was formal action taken to secure compulsory removal.
The patient was a man aged 65 years, suffering from a
grave chronic disease, who was living alone in a flat situated in a
block of offices in South Kensington. He was unable to devote to
himself proper care and attention, and the domiciliary services were