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(5) SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Monthly meetings of the Social Club continue to be held at the
Porters Avenue Day Centre on the first Wednesday of the month. The
attendance at these meetings is not as good as was originally hoped for,
and the value thereof is questionable. Various activities have taken
place, and in particular a very successful party on the 7th May to
commemorate 21 years of Home Help Service under the National Health Service
Act of 1946. The response on this occasion was excellent, and the
function was attended by several members of the Domiciliary and Nursing
Sub¬Committee.
REHOUSING ON MEDICAL GROUNDS
As in previous years my Department has continued to act as advisor
to the Housing Department where applicants have put forward medical
grounds in their claims for rehousing. As almost half the cases require
a visit from at least one and sometimes two or more members of staff as
well as enquiries to hospital or family doctor, it will be seen from
the statistics given below that this often difficult task continues to
require a considerable amount of time from the staff of the Health
Department.
Statistics
Total number of applications 290
Number of families visited 104
Number recommended for rehousing 53
LOAN OF SICK-ROOM EQUIPMENT
Patients being nursed at home may, on medical recommendation, be
loaned a wide variety of equipment to assist in their care. Bulky items
are delivered to patients' homes, smaller articles are collected from
the health department by relatives.
2,444 articles were loaned during the year and 3,031 items were out
on loan at the end of the year. In addition, 38,800 disposable pads for
incontinent patients were issued. The disposal of these pads has not
given rise to any major difficulty up to the present, although their
increasing use may call for special arrangements in the future, particularly
in smokeless zcnes and in centrally heated blocks of flats. Where patients
have not been able to dispose of the pads, this has been arranged at
the destructor plant.
Following advice from the Ministry of Health in August 1966, the
sick¬room equipment loan scheme was extended to include the provision of
waterproof pants and knickers with disposable linings for incontinent
people. During the year, 48 pairs of these garments were issued.
MEDICAL EXAMINATION OF STAFF
The medical invigilation of new entrants to the Council's service,
and the review of cases absent from duty owing to illness continued
during the year. Generally the physical condition of candidates for
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