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Home Help Service - Section 29, National Health Service Act, 1946
This service operated from three area offices, and the staff at each office included
a home help organiser, an assistant organiser and a clerk. The organisers
worked in co-operation and attended regular conferences with the senior staff of the
Department.
The number of home helps employed in each area fluctuated considerably, and
although there was no acute shortage, the service was always fully extended to keep
pace with the growing demand.
Recruitment of suitable women was always difficult. The pattern of demand for
the service followed that of the Inner London area as a whole, and the majority of
recipients were the elderly, infirm and the chronic sick. In addition to domestic
assistance in the home, home helps did shopping and collected pensions, and many did
voluntary acts of kindness to their patients outside their official duties. There
were also a few specially trained helps who helped in the rehabilitation of problem
families. A useful service was also provided in taking children to and from school
or day nursery when no parent was able to do this.

No. of home helps at end of 1965:-
(a) Whole-time 50
(b) Part-time 177
(c) Whole-time
equivalent
of (b) 120
Handicapped Children
Three registers were maintained in the central office of the Department. The
first contained the names of children under 5 years of age, based on the information
supplied on birth notifications or on hospital discharge reports, together with details
of infants detected at welfare centres. A close individual watch was kept at the
centres on any infants considered to be 'at risk' of some handicap and detailed records
held there: they were then transferred to the central register when a handicap was
confirmed. The second register was for school children, consisting of transfers from
the under 5 register on attaining school age, with any new children reported from
school medical examinations or other sources. Each case on these registers was
regularly reviewed by a Principal Medical Officer. A third register specialised in
deaf children in all age groups. It was under the supervision of the Senior Social
Worker and its cases were regularly reviewed by the Principal Medical Officer, who
thus had all three registers under her control. Mentally handicapped children were
also recorded in the mental health index of cases. Exchange of information was encouraged
between the various workers concerned. There was often lack of information
about children moving into the Borough, especially those of immigrants.
Health of Immigrants
Reference is made elsewhere in this report to the repercussions of a large and
growing immigrant population on the various services. The radical problem of the
standard of health of those coming into the country was raised in Ministry of Health
Circular 3/65. Arising from this, the Council pressed for the X-ray examination of
all immigrants in the country of origin.
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