London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Dagenham 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Dagenham]
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DOMESTIC HELP
An analysis of the hours of service rendered by the Domestic Help Service during 1959 is given in the following table. Figures for 1958 are included in brackets.
| Type of case | Number of cases | Hours Help Provided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternity | 50 | (50) | 2,908 | (2,655) |
| Tuberculosis | 6 | (11) | 1,027 | (1,438) |
| Acute | 41 | (57) | 2,701 | (2,906) |
| Chronic Sick Aged | 460 | (377) | 62,147 | (55,601) |
| Chronic Sick Others | 92 | (73) | 17,958 | (19,007) |
| Aged Not Sick | 3 | (2) | 361 | (384) |
| Others | 13 | (17) | 3,749 | (3,656) |
| Totals | 665 | (587) | 90,851 | (85,647) |
Number of visits paid by Organiser 1,400 (1,343)
Average number of domestic helps employed each week 80 (73)
Number of visits paid by domestic helps 46,332
The chronic sick, whether aged or not, present the greatest problem to the home
help section, both in sheer weight of numbers and in the urgency of the help required,
and also in the protracted and often permanent need.
The work of the home help service has increased considerably during the past year,
due chiefly to lack of accommodation in hospital for the aged and chronic sick and the
consequent demand for more daily service. The aim of the service is to help to solve
the problem of housework responsibilities and to ensure that the aged living entirely
alone have a friend in the home help who will lessen the burden of loneliness and helplessness
in the advancing years. Whenever and wherever relatives of the chronic sick
and aged can be contacted, the home help organiser makes a special plea to them for
understanding and help for their older, distressed relatives. Only too frequently,
however, they turn a deaf ear and the only help that can be got for many of the most needy
cases on our books must come from the home helps themselves or from a kindly neighbour.
Unexpected sickness in the housewife or her temporary absence from the chores on
"maternity leave" make a smaller but urgent demand on the home help service, and in
acute sickness cases every endeavour is made to help in the early stages to avoid more
serious developments. The care of children is frequently necessary in the case of a
mother having to enter hospital. The home help also visits the mother whilst in hospital
to reassure her that her family is happy, which we hope helps towards a speedy recovery.
Home help care for tuberculosis patients is now one of the numerically smallest calls
on the service, but the few who still need the help find it is given with understanding
by all the workers.
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