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117
The demand for home helps continued and the service was increased to the
maximum that the financial limitations allowed.
Home helps
The difficulties in making adequate provision for the aged and chronic sick
continued, and every effort was made to improve the facilities available. Most active
efforts were made in Lambeth where there is an active Old People's Welfare Association
and meals are supplied in the homes by the Women's Voluntary Services. The
Lambeth Group Hospital Management Committee set up a sub-committee on which
the Divisional Medical and Nursing Officers and the Borough Medical Officers of
Health are represented, to discuss problems of the aged and chronic sick. Geriatric
wards were opened at the South Western Hospital and a part-time medical officer
appointed to be in charge of the patients in the wards and also to visit old persons
in their homes. This has made a most valuable link between the hospital and personal
health services.
Old people
Division 9, comprising the boroughs of Battersea and Wandsworth.
Dr. Bertha E. A. Sharpe reports :—
The second year under the National Health Service Act in this Division has
been a year of exploration and development. The last report covered the first six
months of the new regime and could be little more than an account of the take over
from the previous authorities. The result of experience and co-ordination is shown
in the succeeding paragraphs, where it will be seen that some services were increased
considerably, whereas economies were effected in others.
The number of people helped weekly under this scheme increased by 40 per cent.
during the last nine months of the year and the position has now been reached when
no application for assistance is refused. Payments for this service continue to be
satisfactory. In order to improve the service still further the Division is to be divided
into three areas, earh under a separate organiser.
Home helps
The number of maintained nurseries in the Division is 16. The number on the
priority waiting list fell from 304 to 178 and the total number waiting from 1,423 to
1,258. All these nurseries are recognised for training purposes as a result of inspection
by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education. The nurseries benefited by
the engagement of a full-time carpenter to repair the broken toys and equipment.
There is also one errant-aided nursery, for over two's only.
Day
nurseries
The number of attendances fell slightly during the year owing to the fall in the
birth-rate and the tendency to go to hospital or to doctors for confinement. The
number of sessions at clinics was reduced accordingly. Blood tests are now taken
of all patients at all the clinics.
Ante-natal
clinics
Under the Nurseries and Child-Minders Regulation Act, 1948, two applications
were received for registration of nurseries and two for child-minders. The Divisional
Health Committee declined one of the latter applications. The applicant subsequently
appealed successfully to a Magistrate's Court against this decision, and certain conditions
to the registration were imposed by the Court.
Child-
minders and
private
nurseries
The Wandsworth Peace Memorial Committee kindly placed their holiday home
at Whitstable at the disposal of the Council during the Winter months, when it had
previously been closed.
Recuperative
holidays
Wherever possible it was the practice to hold vaccination and immunisation
clinics in conjunction with infant welfare clinics. This was of great convenience to
the parents and may have contributed to the increase in vaccinations of nearly 60
per cent, over the comparable figure for 1948. Another cause of this increase may
be the intensive work of the health visitors in the course of their routine visits.
Vaccination
A staff appointments sub-committee was set up by the Divisional Health
Committee to deal with the grades of staff they appoint. During the year a large
staff