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been agreed by the Personal Health Services Committee. This was designed to ensure
the most efficient utilisation of the limited labour available by the modernisation of
methods. It was intended at the same time to increase the flexibility of the service
to meet the future needs, not only of the Health Department, but of the allied social
service departments of Welfare and Children.
Circumstances beyond the control of the Council have prevented full implementation
of this re-organisation and I give below the progress which has been made.
(1) It has not been possible, owing to the Prices and Incomes Policy, to
implement the plan for the creation of posts of home assistants. These were
to be at a higher grade of salary so that a nucleus could be formed of the
most capable home helps to undertake the more difficult cases and control
the other home help staff where occasion arose.
(2) It has been possible to raise the basic rates of pay to bring them more in
line with comparable posts in industry and in September the rate was
increased to 5s. 7.7/8 d. per hour.
(3) The mobile squad has been formed but as the minibus was not delivered
until November, it has only been in operation for a short time. The team
comprises a driver/home help and three home helps which can deal with a
greater volume of work in a shorter period of time. It can also deal more
efficiently with long neglected households. The concentrated efforts of a
group of home helps enables such a situation to be more quickly restored
to a condition which can thereafter be maintained by a single home help.
(4) It has also been possible to implement the scheme whereby transport is
provided to bring home helps from areas of good recruitment to areas of
poor recruitment but high demand. This has been possible by the replacement
of one of the department's general duty vehicles by a minibus and its
employment part-time on bringing home helps from Northolt to the Acton
and Ealing areas and returning them at the end of the day. This service too
only began in November and at present only some 8 home helps are transported
in this way. It is hoped, that the scheme can be extended, thus
avoiding unproductive travelling time.
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