View report page

Tuberculosis
A diversional therapy service for home-bound tuberculous patients was commenced
in December and by the end of the year 26 patients were receiving service. At the time
of writing it looks as though this service is going to prove to be highly successful and
much welcomed by the patients.
Home helps
The home helps attended 3,507 households during the year, an increase of 8.5 per
cent. over the previous year. As mentioned in last year's report, the general recognition
of the value of the home help service is making increasing demands on this service,
which covers all cases of sickness but is particularly valuable in helping old people.
The main problem we are facing in this division, which apparently is not experienced
to the same extent by some other divisions, is the difficulty in recruiting a sufficient
number of staff. Attempts made by means of special forms of advertisement to increase
the recruitment to this service were only partially successful and it is unfortunate that
recruitment difficulties limit the amount of service we are able to give.
In some individual cases the recipients of the service or their relations enquire why
it is not always possible to meet the demands which they feel the patient needs. The
answer is, of course, that where the needs are so many, and the staff limited, some
discretionary allotment of the service is unavoidable. In other words, the existing
service must be spread to give the greatest possible benefit to the greatest number and
this is what we trv to do.
Welfare of
old persons
The welfare of old people is a problem which has caused considerable anxiety
throughout the year, in spite of the increasing amount of time which the department
is now giving to the care of old people. This applies to the work of the health visitors
and the home helps. Among many aspects of this problem which still need to be considered,
are the following :
The difficulty of obtaining admission to hospital of old people when they need it.
The provision of some form of nursing supervision at night-time to old people
who are being nursed at home pending their admission to hospital.
The problem of the old person who refuses to consider going into a hospital or
welfare home, in spite of the fact that such admission would be desirable.
One of our senior nursing officers is devoting an increasing amount of her time to
the administrative problems concerned with old people and their admission to hospital;
and in spite of the difficulties, I think that the old people benefit from what help we can
give.
Organisation
It is again a great privilege to thank all my colleagues for the great help and support
which they have given me during the year. While this applies to all divisional staff,
I would like particularly to mention my senior colleagues—Dr. W. G. Harding,
Dr. A. Garland, Miss W. M. Winch, and Miss G. U. Cox.
I cannot conclude this year's report without making a short reference to the untimely
and tragic loss which we in this division and, indeed, the whole health services of the
Council, experienced by the death of Mr. F. E. Willson, our late Divisional Administrative
Officer. It is appropriate that I should say something about his sterling qualities,
for he had long been closely identified with the Council's health services generally,
and, more particularly, with the health services in this'area. Mr. Willson had a long
period of service (upwards of 40 years) with the Council, and had been Divisional
Administrative Officer in division 7 before he was transferred to this area a month or
two before I took up office in 1952. I found that I had as my divisional administrative
colleague a man of outstanding knowledge, ability and integrity. He entered so wholeheartedly
into the work of the division and he assumed all duties and responsibilities
with such enthusiasm that no one could fail but to admire, and often to marvel at,
his energy. He had in full measure the gifts which make the able administrator, whether
lay, legal or medical. He was able to approach his problems (and they were many)
with an absorbing attention to detail, where this was necessary, without in any way
losing sight of the general principle involved. Add to this a tolerance, generosity and,
indeed, great humanity, and one has the reasons why Mr. Willson was so successful in
his job. He was intensely jealous of the great reputation of the Council and even more
152