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PERSONAL HEALTH
Vaccination against
Tuberculosis
The Council's scheme provides for vaccination with B.C.G. (Bacillus CalmetteGuerin)
of persons who are contacts of tuberculosis, long-term immigrants,
school children and students attending establishments of further education.
During the year 2,701 persons were vaccinated. Vaccination of contacts is
carried out by the staff of the Chest Clinic, and of others by the medical staff
of this department. (See Table 20).
Loan ofNursing
Equipment
Other Services
The local branch of the British Red Cross Society operates a scheme for the
loan of nursing equipment on behalf of the Council. The Society collects a
small hire charge from the patient to off-set the cost of replacement of equipment
when necessary. If a patient is unable to meet the hire charge, this is
paid by the Council which also arranges transport where required. During the
year 2,080 items of nursing equipment were lent to patients under this
scheme, including 363 wheel-chairs and seventeen hospital beds. The electric
hoist and ripple chair seat provided in 1966 for a severely paralysed patient
continued to be needed by the same patient. At the end of the year seven
ripple beds provided by the department were in use for very ill patients.
Loan of Bed Linen
To supplement the laundry service for incontinent persons, bed linen is
available on loan to those who might otherwise be unable to take advantage
of the laundry facilities.
Incontinence Pads
and Clothing
The Council makes free provision of incontinence pads and protective
clothing in the form of waterproof pants and knickers at the request of
general practitioners and home nurses. During the year 582 patients were
provided with 66,288 pads during the year, and 48 with protective clothing.
Chiropody
This service is provided partly by the direct employment of chiropodists by
the Council, and partly by arrangement with voluntary organisations whose
expenditure on chiropody is reimbursed by the Council.
The demand for the service continues unabated and a new weekly session
was started in November at Lincoln Road Clinic. Domiciliary work in
particular is increasing at a fast pace: at present about 100 patients are
visited each week and just under half the total sessions available are devoted
to this work. Inevitably, many clinic patients eventually become domiciliary
cases when for various reasons the mobility of the elderly diminishes.
The voluntary organisations involved were the two local divisions of the
British Red Cross Society, which provided the services at centres and in the
patients' homes; the Southgate Social Service Council, which provided the
service in chiropodists' surgeries; and the Southgate Old People's Welfare
Committee, which provided the service at a centre and in the patients'
homes. (See Table 21).
Venereal Disease
There is no special clinic in the borough. It would, however, appear that
most patients attend the Prince of Wales Hospital in Tottenham. In their
efforts to preserve anonymity, some patients tend to present themselves at
clinics far removed from their home district, but figures of incidence are
available from London Hospitals in respect of Enfield patients. A total of
1,486 new patients attended hospital clinics during the year, compared with
the figure of 1,120 last year.
The borough shares with a neighbouring borough the services of a medical
social worker based at the Special Clinic at the Prince of Wales Hospital. Her
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