View report page

26
Advice Leaflets
The Council arrange for the publication of a pamphlet giving
information on the services available in the borough for old people
individually or through a club. The pamphlet was revised during the year
and a new edition printed.
The Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance send to every
person in London reaching retirement pension age a leaflet giving general
information on welfare services for old people.
Institutional and Domiciliary Care of the Aged Sick
Institutional care, home nursing, sick room equipment and home
helps were provided by the London County Council. Hospital treatment,
medical care, ophthalmic, dental and pharmaceutical services are provided
under statute by the Minister of Health.
One Hospital Management Committee in the northern portion of the
borough utilised 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 southern part of the borough were visited and
assessed by the Council's women health officers. This ensured the early or
immediate admission of patients where the need was urgent on medico-social
grounds. There was 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 were arranged with the
appropriate statutory bodies. These, together with various services
operated by the Council augmented by voluntary bodies, were provided to such
good effect that in many cases the need for hospital admission was
postponed indefinitely.
The number of "chronic sick" visits by the women health officers
during the year totalled 745. It was necessary to arrange for 26 old
people to be admitted to hospitals for institutional treatment, and in
addition, 18 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. Ten old people were dealt with in 1964.
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.
To comply with the legal requirements, the Council have given a
general authority to the Medical Officer of Health to take whatever
action appears to him to be necessary under the terms of Section 122 of
the Public Health (London) Act, 1936,