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35
The laundry service carried out by the borough council for the
small number of old people living at home whose infirmity is such as
to make them incontinent of urine or faeces was continued and expanded
during the year, over 17,000 articles being cleansed. The service was
highly appreciated ; it can only be used, however, where section 122 of
the Public Health (London) Act applies. I reported last year that I was
still in touch with the regional hospital board and the local group
hospital management committee to find out if it were possible to help
early cases of incontinence by admission to hospital for rehabilitation.
For this purpose it would be desirable to set up a geriatric unit in a local
hospital, but during the year no progress was made in this direction.
With regard to general care, the old person runs additional hazards
which he does not always appreciate; thus his nutrition often suffers,
resulting in decreased resistance to infection and increased illhealth.
The defective nutrition is in part due to decreasing appetite in old age
and more especially due to living alone and as a result not bothering,
or not being able, to cook himself a proper meal. Consequently he
tends to live on snacks or something out of a tin, and over the years his
nutrition deteriorates. The Meals on Wheels service is a help in this
connection although from the statistics available it would seem to
touch only a small proportion of those old people who would benefit
from it. Lunch clubs too are most useful and the establishment of such
clubs is actively encouraged by the committee. It is disappointing
that so little progress in their establishment or expansion was made
during the year under review. A matter which might be explored
further is the possibility of providing old people with certain nutrients
which they frequently lack and, concomitantly, educating them to use
such nutrients. What I have in mind especially are nutrients of the
bemax, marmite, etc., type containing particularly the vitamin B
complex, as it is probable that this vitamin is the most frequently lacking
in the old person's dietary.
Failing sight is another matter which the old person is frequently
unaware of, as it is so gradual in onset; or if he is aware of it he finds
it too much bother to get it corrected, or helped, by new spectacles. As
a result accidents are much more frequent, both home accidents where
the old person may stumble over obstacles or even fall downstairs, and
also road accidents. Some figures recently published show that in the
metropolitan area in 1951, 379 deaths from road accidents occurred,
6 percent of these being under the age of five, 9 percent between 5 and
15,9 percent between 15 and 45, 8 percent between 45 and 55, 14 percent
between 55 and 65, and 54 percent age 65 and over. In other words,
well over half the number of fatal accidents occurred in people aged
65 or over. Since the proportion of such people in the Lewisham
population is only 12 percent this means that the number of fatal
accidents in old people is likely to be of the order of 4 times the average.
In fact, in 1952, the number of persons over 65 in Lewisham dying
from accidents, of any cause, was 30 out of a total number of 62 fatal
accidents. It must be remembered too that if not fatal, the accident
may cause serious injury and prolonged illness.