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45
At the 1st November, 1955, the number of new cases totalled
364, whereas at the 1st November, 1956, the new cases amounted
to 444; and it will be seen that this represents a 22% rise in cases.
Since the commencement of the financial year 171 old cases
already receiving help, on the recommendation of the General
Medical Practitioner or Hospital Consultant, and subsequent
investigation by the Domestic Help Organiser, have had to receive
additional help. Further to this, the bad summer of 1956 meant that
fires were continued over the greater part of the summer in the case
of many old people confined to their rooms.
More and more Geriatric units are viewing the problem of old
people from the preventive aspect. The local unit in Langthorne
Hospital has been a pioneer in this respect. This, in effect, means
the treatment of the aged in their own home on an out-patient
basis ; and I understand that this has necessitated as many as 1,200
domiciliary visits by the Consulting Geriatricians. Thus an increase
in the number of cases which would normally have been Hospital
In-patients have had to be allocated Domestic Help, as they are
treated at home.
Furthermore a great number of bed-fast patients are admitted
to the Chronic Sick wards over a period of six weeks, to be returned
home for six weeks and re-admitted for six weeks, and so on. This
is done to relieve relatives. However, most of these cases would in
the past be in-patients, but now become, for these periods, beneficiaries
of the Domestic Help service.
The effect of this additional work enumerated above has been
to cause a rise in the estimated hours of 24% during the first half of
the financial year.
I have, with the Chairman and the Domestic Help Organiser,
carried out a complete survey of all the cases, and, of the 700 cases
being helped, it was possible only to reduce help in 9 cases, with a
saving of approximately 30 hours per week. Another aspect which
was apparent from this review is that there were approximately 270
cases who would have to be Hospital in-patients but for the Domestic
Help service.
Analysis of cases and hours.