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33
Cost of holidays £ s. d.
Board and lodging fees and fares 1,357 12. 10.
Booking fees paid to
Family Welfare Association 28. 5 0.
1,385 17. 10.
Less contributions by applicants 5.5. 5. 0.
Actual cost to Council 8.0. 12. 10.
In each case the holiday was for a period of two weeks.
Letters of appreciation have been received from the old
people concerned and all those participating expressed their utmost
satisfaction when seen by the Woman Health Officer on their return
home.
Institutional and Domiciliary Care of the Aged Sick
Facilities for institutional care, home nursing, sick room
equipment and home helps are provided by the London County Council.
Hospital treatment, medical care, ophthalmic, dental and pharmaceutical
services are provided under statute by the Minister of Health.
The borough is situated in the area of two Metropolitan
Regional Hospital Boards. One Hospital Management Committee in the
northern portion of the borough utilizes the part-time service of a
local medical practitioner as a clinical assessor to decide the
priority need for admission of all patients submitted to that Hospital
Group as being in need of hospital treatment and classed as "chronic
sick." Cases on the chronic sick waiting lists of St. Mary Abbots
Hospital in the borough are referred to the Public Health Department.
They are visited and assessed by the women health officers. This
ensures the early or immediate admission of patients where the need
is urgent on medico/social grounds. There is usually no difficulty
in the admission to hospital for the treatment of acute conditions.
Where necessary, medical care, home nursing, home helps,
convalescent holidays, financial aid and pensions are arranged with
the appropriate statutory bodies. These, together with various
services operated by the Council augmented by voluntary bodies, are
provided to such good effect that, in many cases, the need for
hospital admission is postponed indefinitely. The number of "chronic
sick" visits by the women health officers during the year totalled
668.
During the year it was possible to arrange for 36 old
people to be admitted to hospitals for institutional treatment and,
in addition, 34 cases were admitted to homes for the aged.
Domiciliary Cleansing
Arrangements have been made whereby old people's living
accommodation and household articles are cleansed and, if necessary,
disinfested. Three old people were dealt with in 1961.
Laundry
At present no direct authority exists for the Council to
provide a laundry service, as such, for old people. Section 122
of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, enables the Council to
cause any article in the house to be cleansed, disinfected or
destroyed, if it is in such a filthy, dangerous or unwholesome
condition that health is affected or endangered thereby. The
cleansing of grossly fouled bedding in cases of incontinence may be
dealt with under this Section.