View report page

4
individuals and representatives of organisations, who were visited by the Depart
ment's officers and helped and advised in many ways. Loneliness is one very
important problem with which a large number of old persons have to cope. Friends
and relatives have departed and elderly persons and elderly couples may be left
alone. Because of infirmity and slowness of movement, they find it difficult to carry
out the necessary shopping, preparation of their food and keeping of their homes in
reasonably clean condition. This is especially the case if their health is not good,
even temporarily. Neighbourly action in helping lonely old people in the various
necessary day-to-day tasks could do a good deal to make their lives easier and help
them in maintaining their morale and state of health. Visitors from voluntary
organisations are doing excellent work by keeping in touch with old people, but the
number of voluntary workers does not allow more than a very small proportion to
be accomplished of what should be done.
Health depends to a great extent upon proper nutrition and this is difficult to
achieve for persons who cannot easily leave their homes. Some of them are helped
by a mid day meal supplied through the " Meals-on-Wheels " Service, carried out
by the W.V.S., with transport provided by the Borough Council and a direct subsidy
towards the cost of the meals granted by the L.C.C. Again, this service, while
helpful, can only be of limited use because of the insufficiency of voluntary workers
to man a more adequate service. Assistance given by the Borough Council in the
form of grants towards holidays for old people must also be very helpful physically
and mentally, and assists many to go away when a holiday would not have been
possible otherwise.
The staff of the Public Health Department constitute a Health Service team
which, due to the volume of work in the Borough, is one of the largest, if not the
largest of the Metropolitan Health Departments. Two important staff changes
occurred during the year, Dr. A. M. Ison was succeeded as Part-time Deputy
Medical Officer of Health, by Dr. A. L. Thrower, who is also an Assistant Medical
Officer of the London County Council, and the vacancy for a Deputy Chief Sanitary
Inspector, caused by the resignation of Mr. Ashcroft was filled by the appointment
during the year of Mr. H. Plinston. I have pleasure in expressing thanks to Mr.
W. C. Bartlett, Chief Sanitary Inspector, and Mr. E. J. Sharp, Chief Clerk, for their
continuing valuable services willingly given in all matters affecting the work of the
Department, and they also are ably and willingly assisted by all members of the
Public Health staff.
I again have pleasure in expressing thanks for their sympathetic consideration
of the matters placed before them, to the Public Health and Housing Committees,
with Alderman H. J. L. Lygoe, J.P., M.S.M., and Councillor F. W. Byrne, as their
respective Chairmen.
V. FREEMAN,
Medical Officer of Health.