View report page

alcoholism, in particular the need for the statutory and voluntary agencies to work
closely together to provide a comprehensive service. Local authorities were asked
to take this advice into account in planning their services and to co-operate with
hospital authorities and the voluntary organisations concerned.
The memorandum referred to the need for more hostels specifically for alcoholics
which might be provided by local authorities or by voluntary bodies.
The extent of alcoholism in the borough is not known and hostel provision
specifically for this purpose is not included in the Council's Ten-Year Plan. This
category of patient would not normally be admitted to the Council's "Windsmill"
hostel, but one of the persons maintained by the Council in a voluntary home is
so placed for rehabilitation following hospital treatment for alcoholism.
After consultation with hospital departments concerned, it is felt that the use
of voluntary hostels for the after-care of persons previously addicted to alcohol is
the most appropriate provision at present.
(See Statistical Tables 25, 26 and 27)
HOME HELP SERVICE
Under Section 29 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, a local health
authority may make arrangements for providing domestic help for households where
such help is required owing to the presence of any person who is ill, lying-in, an
expectant mother, aged, or a child not over compulsory school age within the
meaning of the Education Act, 1944.
The former Middlesex County Council made proposals to provide a Home
Help Service under this Section when it became operative in July, 1948, and the
London Borough of Enfield has continued the service since its formation.
Now Section 13 of the Health Services and Public Health Act, 1968, imposes
on local health authorities a duty to provide or arrange to provide a home help
service adequate to the needs of their area. This replaces the former permissive
power to provide this service under the National Health Service Act, 1946. This
Section of the new Act specifically includes persons handicapped by injury or
congenital deformity amongst those who may qualify for assistance from the home
help service. In addition, power is given to provide or arrange for the provision
of laundry facilities for households for which home help is being or can be provided
under the home help service. However, Ministry of Health Circular 31/68 states
that, in the light of the economic situation, it has been decided to defer for the time
being the bringing into force of Section 13 of the 1968 Act.
Difficulty was still experienced in recruiting suitable staff for the home help
service, but an improved figure of 150 whole-time equivalent home-helps was reached
at the end of the year. It was, however, still necessary to limit the hours of help
given in individual cases in order to assist as many applicants as possible.
72