London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
67
sion to one such home, and the adaptation of larger premises to replace another, have
been approved and loans have been granted to the associations concerned, repayment
of capital and interest ranking for grant from the Council. For another association the
Duchy of Cornwall Estate have agreed to erect a building which can be used as a
nurses' home to replace the scattered and inadequate premises now in use, and the
Council will take a 60 years' lease of the new home and sub-let to the association.
The Queen's Institute of District Nursing asked the Council to examine the
possibility of establishing a block training scheme for student district nurses in
London, whereby all lectures would be taken during the second month of training
instead of being spread over six months as at present. It was felt, however, that
since district nursing training is affected by discussions being held at national level
it would not be opportune to embark on a reorganisation of such magnitude. Means
are being considered of preventing the overcrowding at lecture centres which has
been an unsatisfactory feature of the existing system.
DOMESTIC HELP SERVICE
Domestic assistance is provided by the Council under Sec. 29 of the National
Health Service Act, 1946, which extended the powers previously exercised by the
metropolitan borough councils and transferred them to the Council. Such service
can be provided wherever it may be required owing to the presence of any person
who is ill, lying-in, an expectant mother, mentally defective, aged, or a child not
over school age.
The growth of the service is shown by the following table:—
| 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cases assisted | 25,933 | 25,805 | 26,542 |
| Hours worked | 2,783,000 | 3,159,728 | 3,441,152 |
| Home helps employed at end of year | 2,310 | 2,525 | 2,663 |
| Equivalent of whole-time staff | 1,265 | 1,381 | 1,562 |
The service includes a small number of male home helps who are sent to selected
homes, e.g., elderly men living alone who cannot wholly fend for themselves.
The demand on the service and the extent to which it was met in 1951 is shown by the following.
| Maternity | Other | |
|---|---|---|
| Applications received | 2,992 | 15,837 |
| Households attended:— | ||
| (a) Completed periods of help | 2,194 | 12,171 |
| (b) Service incomplete at end of year | 125 | 12,052 |
Some of the maternity patients were able to obtain other help and others who
had anticipated a home confinement were in the event removed to hospital: there is
therefore some disparity between the applications received and the cases helped which
is not attributable to any failure of the home help service. Whilst every endeavour
was made to provide some service to all the non-maternity patients, it was not possible
to meet the whole demand even by a policy of "spreading the butter," and about
385 applications had to be refused because of inability to supply. Service for maternity
patients is usually provided for two weeks of 44 hours : the average number of
hours weekly for other patients was 5¼, which continued over an average period of
42 weeks.
A charge is made for the service, varying from the full rate of 2s. 6d. an hour to
free attendance. Assessments are based on a scale approved by the Council and the
Ministry of Health.
In November a short experimental course of instruction for home helps was
organised by the National Institute of Houseworkers, Ltd., with assistance from the
Council and on the recommendation of the Ministry of Health. From the experience