View report page

Industrial
rehabilitation
In addition to the arrangements made by the local disablement resettlement officers
of the Ministry of Labour for the training and employment of tuberculous patients, the
Council sent selected patients during the year to three village settlements, viz. the
British Legion Village, Preston Hall, near Maidstone, Enham—Alamcin Village Centre,
near Andover, Hants., and Papworth Village Settlement, near Cambridge.
Mention should also be made of the correspondence courses in shorthand, bookkeeping,
general educational subjects, light engineering, etc. arranged by the British
Council for Rehabilitation for patients undergoing prolonged treatment at home. The
cost of these courses is borne by the Council, who also make a grant towards administration
expenses.
Apart from the special factory in Bermondsey run under Government aegis by
Remploy Ltd., there are no group employment facilities under sheltered conditions
available for tuberculous patients in London and the need for additional facilities of
this kind continues.
Recuperative
holidays
London tuberculous patients who have recently been ill or are threatened with
relapse are able to have holidays arranged for them through the Spero Holiday Scheme
of the National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis. Holidays under this
scheme were provided during the year for 322 patients.
Care
committees
The voluntary tuberculosis care committees associated with most of the 29 chest clinics
in London continued their valuable work of assisting patients and their families
financially or in other ways where help was not available from official sources. The
Council's local tuberculosis care organisers act as secretaries to these committees.
Hostels for
homeless
infective men
The Council continued to provide special residential accommodation for men with
advanced disease who have received the maximum benefit from hospital treatment but
cannot be discharged because they are homeless. The accommodation and facilities
provided at the Council's two hostels for tuberculous men, Cromwell Lodge, Hornsey
and Hurlingham Lodge, Fulham, were fully described in my report for 1955. In
addition arrangements have continued for up to 16 infective ex-servicemen to be
accommodated temporarily in hostel accommodation at the British Legion Village,
Preston Hall, Maidstone, where they are provided with board, lodging and diversional
therapy. Accommodation in the hostels has always been fully occupied and there has
been an average waiting list of 18 men. Plans are in hand for the establishment of a
third hostel.
Services for children
Open-air
schools
The Council provides day and residential open-air schools for school children who are
convalescing from tuberculosis and not sufficiently fit to resume normal school life.
Under medical supervision educational activities are pursued at a gentle pace in favourable
surroundings and special attention is paid to adequate rest and nutrition.
Tuberculosis
contact
scheme
Through the agency of the Invalid Children's Aid Association the Council continued
to arrange for the boarding out of children exposed to infection at home, or needing
care because a parent or parents were receiving treatment for tuberculosis, where private
arrangements could not be made or their needs could not be met by other services,
e.g. day nursery or child-minder. Boarding out was also arranged under the scheme
where this was thought desirable during the process of B.C.G. vaccination. As will be
seen in Table T.10 (page 33) the number of children placed annually under the scheme
continues to fall.
B.C.G.
vaccination
The Council s schemes for the B.C.G. vaccination of susceptible (tuberculin negative)
child contacts of known tuberculous patients, diabetic children and thirteen-year-old
school children continued successfully during 1956. The numbers of children in these
three groups vaccinated in the year are shown in (Table T.14 page 36).
In November, 1956, the Rank Organisation Ltd. made for the Council a three
minute colour film on B.C.G. vaccination which will be shown at its cinemas throughout
London for a year. It will appear at cinemas in each of the nine health divisions
27