View report page

47
Miscellaneous Matters.
Conferences.
The Council were officially represented at the undermentioned
Conferences dealing with matters within the purview of the Public
Health Department.
Conference Delegates.
Royal Society of Health, Cllr. Miss E. A. Coles, J.P., and
Blackpool—24th to 28th the Medical Officer of Health.
April.
Association of Public Health Cllr. G. Whitehead and Mr. I. R.
Inspectors, Bournemouth— Lewis, Factories and Work-
19th to 22nd September. shops Inspector.
National Society for Clean Cllr. Mrs. C.M. Davis and Mr.
Air, Brighton—4th to 6th G.W.P. Weeks, Chief Public
October. Health Inspector.
Royal Society for Prevention Ald. Mrs. A.M. Smith and the
of Accidents; Home Safety, Medical Officer of Health.
London—1st November.
Care of Old People.
Many calls have been made upon the Public Health Department
during the year, and it would appear that the general public are
becoming more aware of the needs and problems of old age. This is
to be welcomed, for the earlier we can be informed about an old person
requiring help the more satisfactory the outcome, for loneliness, which
is so common to many of the elderly, not only affects their physical
health but also their mental processes, leading to various degrees of
mental confusion and subsequent complaints from worried neighbours.
A confused old person is not always easy to deal with, and if conditions
deteriorate and there is a refusal to accept essential services, compulsory
powers of removal may have to be taken as a last resort.
Last May saw the retirement of Miss J. Round, one of the Department's
women Public Health Inspectors, who had for a considerable
number of year done sterling work in visiting and helping the aged.
Mrs. M. I. Richards was appointed in her place as an Old People's
Visitor; and started duty in August. Mrs. Richards has had past
experience in old people's work, and since her appointment has been
able to concentrate further on the more urgent cases which come to the
notic of the Department. Her efforts, augmented by the London
County Council Home Helps, the Department's laundry service for
incontinent patients, the excellent Meals-on-Wheels service provided
by Mrs. Rockall and her helpers in the Women's Voluntary Service, and
various other voluntary services, go a long way in alleviating old people's
distress and are a means of rehabilitating and stabilising their lives. Our
primary object is to keep the old persons in their homes rather than
admit them to Old People's Welfare Homes. The regular and specialised
visiting by the London County Council Health Visitors is highly valued
by the Department, and there is a continuous "to and fro" of information
between the Medical Officer of Health and the Old People's
Visitor on one hand, and the Health Visitors on the other.