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Disinfection
Premises are not normally sprayed following cases of the more
common infectious diseases. During the year 55 rooms in 37 premises were
sprayed with formaldehyde upon request. These requests are usually made
after a death or serious illness, and disinfection is carried out from
the humanitarian point of view. In addition, mainly for foul conditions,
165 rooms in 63 premises were treated.
Assisted Bathing
The cleansing of elderly and/or infirm persons under the supervision
of the Superintendent, who is a State Registered Nurse, was
started by the former Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith in the Autumn
of 1961. This is a service which it is impossible to organise systematically,
for various reasons understandable in dealing mainly with old
people in a poor state of health and to whom a stated time on a stated
day means very little. From past experience, it has been found that
approximately one journey in six proves fruitless. However, this
service is greatly appreciated by the 17 patients who were assisted
during the year. Their ages varied from 41 - 92 years, and the infirmities
included psoriasis, diabetes, poliomyelitis, arthritis, cervical
syringomyelia, multiple-sclerosis, and hemiplegia. The number of
cleansings performed was 261.
Health Laundries
The year under review will be remembered as a period of constant
interruptions and disruptions of both the incontinent and departmental
sections.
The machines at Townmead Road and Scotts Road were becoming less
and less dependable having passed their periods of useful life and
consequently were in constant need of repair and maintenance. As machines
at one or the other Station broke down, work had to be transferred with
staff. These disruptions to normal routine placed additional burdens
on transport, already under stress occasioned by inexperienced staff.
Some curtailment of service was inevitable, but great care was taken to
ensure that those in greatest need were not affected. Comparison with
the previous years' figures shows a decrease of 7% in the number of
articles laundered under the incontinent scheme.
B.37