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39
Another approach to the problem has been in Twickenham,
where a clinic for the elderly has been started with the
idea of examining apparently healthy old people in order
to detect incipient defects and remedy them before they
become a disability.
A further example is the Rutherglen Consultative
Health Centre for Elderly People, where there is integration
with hospital, local authority, general practitioner
and voluntary services for old people in the local auth-ority"
s premises. The Medical Officer of Health makes a
social assessnent of the case and examines the old person
in consultation with the Geriatrician. The old people are
subsequently kept under medical surveillance, and chiropody
and physiotherapy services are made available to
them.
As Medical Officer of Health I am continually being
approached for assistance by General Practitioners with
regard to their elderly patients In my experience the
sort of cases I am asked to assist are those which do not
seem to be in unequivocal need either of hospital care or
admission to Old People s Home and yet do not seem to be
living successfully at home Of course the Home Nursing
and Home Help Services are of inestimable value in tackling
this problem, and as a Borough we have done much to
augment these statutory services. Thus, under Section 31
of the National Assistance Act, in partnership with
voluntary organisations we provide a Meals on Wheels
Service Holidays for Old People, a Chiropody Service and
Work Centres for the Elderly Despite this, I still find
that there is a certain type of old person who does not
appear to be successfully helped at present by our services
This is the housebound old person who is perhaps
severely crippled by arthritis, is rarely visited and
whose morale is low and whose zest for living has gone.
This type of old person is often living alone and even if
living with relatives is uncared for during the day when
they are out at work I have given careful consideration
to the needs of these old people and to possible means of
meeting them and I feel that a Day Rest and Treatment
Centre may well prove a solution. The idea is that these
patients would be recommended by their doctor and brought
by ambulance daily to the Centre. Here they would receive
chiropody and physiotherapy and would be visited for
treatment by their own doctor. A hot lunch would be
provided by the Meals on Wheels Service. This medical and