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reporting of illness, a method known to be largely ineffective in
the case of old people irrespective of their financial status.
It can clearly be seen that hospital links with the bulk of elderly
persons in the community, all of whom are potential geriatric
patients, is tenuous and through other agencies. General practitioners
are only able to deal with those presenting for treatment.
In this respect, therefore, although having their own important
roles to play, both the hospital and general practitioner services fall
seriously short of providing the fundamental conditions necessary
for a successful geriatric service, viz. preventive action and ascertainment
of disability.
Prevention has always been the prerogative of local authority
health departments and, without doubt, attention to long term
measures is fundamental to eventual overall improvement. However,
there still remains the problem of discovering how much
disability exists in the elderly population, whether it is curable and,
if not, JioW sufficient improvement can be achieved to enable
patients to regain independence and become acceptable once more
in society. Health departments with their peculiar standing in the
community and their accumulated knowledge of social and
environmental conditions are in a particularly advantageous
position to seek and ascertain the extent and seriousness of the
hidden disabilities of our older citizens.
Future Prospects
It is universally recognised that during the next decade the
proportion of old people in the country's population will rise to
approximately one-sixth. A problem of such magnitude could be
a daunting prospect for the health, welfare and social services
which may well be hampered by financial considerations for some
time to come.
In this connection, there is one aspect of an ageing population
which receives all too little attention but which will gain in
importance over the coming years. It is the question of leisure.
Inextricably bound up with the rapidly growing geriatric problem
is that of leisure and its profitable use.
In these modern days, if we are to hold our position as one of
the most successful industrialised nations of the world, we must
learn to utilise our increasingly expensive capital equipment more
fully and, therefore, more economically. During the next five to ten
years, this will undoubtedly demand round-the-clock working which
will result in greater productivity and more leisure being made
available at other than normal times, all with the same or even less
manpower. The working week will be reduced but, more