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One case was of a woman aged between 70 and 80 who was infirm
and unable to keep herself and her home clean. She had been
receiving help from voluntary sources, including meals-on-wheels,
and also from other occupiers in the house, but eventually even
this help was not sufficient. Her only relative was an aged
brother who was an inmate of a mental hospital. Application
was made to the Magistrate's Court but at the last moment the
patient agreed to be admitted to hospital.
The second case was of a woman aged 85 years, who
lived alone and refused all offers of help. She was also living
in insanitary circumstances and was unable to look after herself
properly# This lady was very forgetful, argumentative and
wandered about the house and streets after dark. She was visited
by an officer of the London County Council and a psychiatrist
but was found not to be certifiable. Arrangements were made for
a hospital bed and an ambulance was sent on two occasions but
the patient refused to enter hospital. The only relative was
a step-brother who was himself a semi-invalid and lived some
distance away.
Application was made to the Magistrates who made an
order providing for the detention of the patient in the Geriatric
Unit of a hospital for a period of three months. The patient
was subsequently transferred to a mental hospital where she
remained as a voluntary patient until her death early in 1959 •
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
The ultimate aim of the Council is to make the whole
of the Borough a smoke control area. This will take some years
and will depend somewhat on the rate of progress made with the
electrification and conversion to diesel engines of the railways.
As is well known, there are a large number of ventilating shafts
to the tunnels with which Hampstead is honeycombed and it is
virtually impossible to prevent nuisances from smoke and fumes
from locomotives passing through the tunnels.
During the year under review the Department's work in
connection with air pollution fell under four main headings:-
1. Securing of Smoke Control Areas.
2. Abatement of nuisances.
Measurement of air pollution.
Supervision of newly installed appliances.