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13
Domestic Help Service.
A domestic help service is in operation and is administered for the
Essex County Health Services by the Area Medical Officer, 34 Cresthill
Avenue, Grays.
Domestic helps can be supplied for a period of two weeks in the
case of a home confinement, but as there is a great demand for this
service, it is essential to apply as early as possible. Where there is illness
approval may be given, upon receipt of a medical certificate, for a Help
to attend.
Domestic Helps are paid by the County Council, but the person
assisted is required to contribute towards the cost according to his, or her,
means. An assessment form must, therefore, be completed if it is desired
to claim reduction in the charge, otherwise the full standard charge,
which is at present 3s. 6d. an hour, will be payable.
Care of the Aged.
It was not considered necessary during the year to take any action
under Section 47 of the National Assistance Act, 1948.
It may be informative to quote some notes on this Section of the
Act also the National Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1951:—
"The powers which a number of Local Authorities at present
possess under local Acts to remove certain persons from insanitary conditions
are now replaced by powers conferred by Section 47 of the
National Assistance Act, 1948, as amended by the National Assistance
(Amendment) Act, 1951, on the Councils of all County Boroughs and
County Districts and in London on all Sanitary Authorities. In the case
of persons who:
(a) are suffering from grave chronic disease or, being aged, infirm
or physically incapacitated, are living in insanitary conditions, and
(b) are unable to devote to themselves and are not receiving from
other persons, proper care and attention,
the Authority may, on the written certificate of their Medical Officer
of Health, apply to a Court of Summary Jurisdiction for an Order for
a person's removal to and detention in a suitable hospital or other place
(e.g. residential accommodation provided under the Act).
The powers given to the Medical Officer of Health under the
Amendment Act of 1951, enables him, with another registered medical
practitioner, to act in an emergency, the duration of the enforced stay in
an Institution being 3 weeks, after which any extension is required to be
applied for by the Local Authority and not the Medical Officer of Health.
It is a prerequisite of admission that the Institution concerned must
have signified their willingness to admit the individual."
May I again emphasise the importance of team work in the care
of the aged. It is a problem of such wide variations that only the most
comprehensive approach can go far towards securing anything like a
satisfactory solution to it.
Meals on Wheels.
I am indebted to Mr. L. F. de Warr, Chairman of the Old People's
Association for the following information:—