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49
Miscellaneous Matters.
Conferences.
The Council were officially represented at the undermentioned
Conferences dealing with matters within the purview of the Public Health
Department.
Conference.
Royal Sanitary Institute, Scarborough—27th
to 30th April.
Central Consultative Committee
on the Welfare of Old People,
London—25th June.
Sanitary Inspectors' Association,
Southport—7th to 10th September.
National Smoke Abatement
Society, Scarborough—22nd to
24th September.
Delegates.
Aid. Miss E. A. Coles, J.P., and
the Deputy Medical Officer of
Health.
Cllrs. Mrs. P. G. Mitchell and
Mrs. D. L. L. Newman.
Cllrs. Mrs. E. A. Cooper, J.P.,
and Mr. F. H. Chuter, Chief
Sanitary Inspector.
Cllr. Mrs. C. M. Davis, and
Mr. I. R. Lewis, Sanitary
Inspector.
Aged and Infirm Persons.
Under Section 47 of the National Assistance Act, 1948, the Council
are empowered to apply to a Court of Summary Jurisdiction for an
Order for the removal to a hospital or other suitable place of any person
who is aged or infirm or suffering from some grave chronic disease,
and is living under insanitary conditions. This power is exercisable
operative certificate of the Medical Officer of Health. The Order remains
operative for a period of three months, but the Court may, on application
by the Council, extend it for such further periods, not exceeding three
months each, as are considered necessary.
The procedure under Section 47, as outlined above, was amended
by the National Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1951, which came into
operation on the 1st September, 1951, for the purpose of enabling very
urgent cases to be dealt with more expeditiously. This new Act provides
that the Court, or a single Justice of the Peace, may, on the certificates
of the Medical Officer of Health and another registered medical practitioner,
make an Order without formal notice of the application having
been given to the person concerned or to the hospital authority, subject,
in the case of the latter, to evidence being produced of their willingness
to admit the person. The length of time a person may be detained
under such an Order is limited to three weeks, instead of three months,
and any application for an extension of this period must be made in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Section 47. An application
under the new Act may be made by the Medical Officer of Health
without special authority from the Health Committee in each individual
case, provided a general authority to act is given. Such general authority
has been given the Council to the Medical Officer of Health and his
Deputy.
It was found necessary to use these emergency powers in one case
during the year. This case was a man of 85 years of age, who was
suffering from grave chronic disease, was unable to give himself proper
care and attention and was not receiving care from any other persons.
He clearly needed removal to hospital in the interests of his own health
and safety. All efforts to persuade him to enter hospital voluntarily were