View report page

12
C. Infirm.
Persons who are normally able to get up and who, although not able
to attend dining hall, could use a nearby dayroom, this class to include
persons who require a certain amount of assistance from staff in dressing,
toilet, or in moving from room to room, and also certain persons who in
bad or cold weather may require to spend a few days in bed.
D. Chronic sick.
Persons suffering from any specific disease necessitating their confinement
wholly or practically wholly to bed, this class to include persons
who require daily and continuous treatment from the medical officer, and
also extremely aged persons who, though suffering from no specific disease,
are confined to bed on account of extreme weakness.
E. Menial cases.
F. Maternity cases.
G. Children 3 years and over—
(1) healthy.
(2) sick.
H. Infants (i.e., children under 3 years) —
(1) healthy.
(2) sick.
The public health establishments comprise the following institutions City of
London, Constance Road, Fulham, Hackney, Hammersmith, Holborn and Finsbury,
St. Mary Abbots hospital (institution), St. Alfege's, St. Leonard's, St. Pancras,
South Grove, Lambeth hospital (institution portion), St. John's hospital (chronic
sick).
The public assistance establishments are—Institutions:—Bromley House,
Poplar, Waterloo House, Islington, St. Marylebone, Chelsea, Westminster, Swaffield
Road, Camberwell, Christchurch, Newington, Ladywell, Woolwich; Homes for aged
poor—Lambeth home, Langley House.
The Council also decided that inmates in classes A, B, C, G (1) (pending transfer
to schools under the management of the Education Committee), and H (1) (except
infants separated from their parents) should be placed under the control of the
Public Assistance Committee, and patients in classes D, E, F, G (2), H (1) (infants
separated from their parents), and H (2) should be placed under the control of the
Hospitals and Medical Services Committee.
It was recognised that it would be necessary, even in public assistance institutions,
to have sick wards in which it would be possible to deal with sickness of
short duration, and thus reduce the number of transfers between the two classes of
institutions for slight causes. Such sick wards would deal only with short and
slight illnesses, and should not be of such a nature that it would be necessary to
allocate to them special nursing staff. All that was needed was accommodation
so situated in the institution that an inmate who had to go to bed for a day or so
could be cared for by the attendants without inconvenience.
On the basis of the foregoing criteria a classification was made in February,
1934, of the patients and inmates in both public health and public assistance institutions,
as a result of which the following decisions were reached :—
(i) the transfer of South Grove institution to the control of the Public
Assistance Committee as from 1st January, 1935 ;
(ii) the diversion of admissions as from 1st December, 1934, to ensure
that public assistance cases are admitted to public assistance institutions and
public health cases to public health establishments, provided that they remain
accessible to their friends and relations ; and
(iii) if opportunity occurred, the exchange of inmates between institutions,
e.g., the sick inmates in a ward in a public assistance institution to be
transferred to a public health establishment, and the resulting vacant accommodation
occupied by a number of infirm inmates from public health
establishments.