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National Health Disablement benefit. The Committee arranged
for this patient to be granted extra nourishment, and this is renewed
when the grant expires. It was also found that owing to her long
confinement to bed she needed a special kind of air ring. She had
borrowed money and purchased one, but it was unsatisfactory.
The Committee, therefore, arranged with a firm of surgical appliance
makers for her to be provided with one made specially for her,
from which she derived great comfort—the outstanding debt on the
previous one being cleared by the Committee, much to the relief
of the patient
M.C., aged 50. Patient had been ill and unable to work for
four years. During that time she had a period of Sanatorium treatment.
She was a single woman living with two sisters. Her parents
were dead. The patient had only her National Health Disablement
benefit, and the eldest sister had no income at all. She was unable
to work but assisted in keeping house. The other sister, who was the
breadwinner, was badly in need of a holiday, but she would not
consent to go away without her sisters. By dint of careful saving,
and by working late she had managed from her small earnings to
put aside sufficient to cover the cost of board and lodging for two
weeks, but she was finding it difficult to get the fares together.
The Committee paid the patient's return fare to the seaside,
and gave a grant in addition sufficient to give her pocket money
during her stay there. With this help the sister was able to complete
her arrangements and a very enjoyable holiday was obtained for
them all.