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GENERAL PROVISION OF HEALTH SERVICES.
Hospitals.—The remarks set out under this heading in the
Annual Report for 1946 still hold good. Hospital beds are still in
short supply, partly owing to lack of sufficient accommodation, even
more to lack of adequate staff. This particularly applies to beds for
the chronic sick and infirm, for whom the waiting list is distressingly
long.
The practice of supplying domestic helps to families in which
illness has occurred and in which removal to hospital of the patient
has not been possible, is merely an expedient, and not a very good
one at that. In the same way, the provision of a part-time nursing
service fails to solve the problem.
With a population such as Southgate's, heavily weighted
towards the end of the scale, the problem is really acute. Requests
for admission to hospitals and institutions received by the Public
Health Department have shown a considerable increase over the past
few years, and it is quite obvious that many families are now having
to endure hardship and unhappiness which should never be their lot
in a well-organised community. The solution does not lie with us,
but we must none the less be keenly interested in its application.
We await the setting-up of the new Regional Hospital Boards with
interest, in the hope that the needs of the population who require
hospital accommodation will be more adequately met.
It is pleasing to report that the urgent demand for maternity
beds was met in a more satisfactory manner in 1947 than during
previous years, although it still cannot be said that this problem
has been adequately solved.
As previously noted, the arrangements whereby cases of infectious
disease from Southgate are admitted to the Finchley, Hornsey,
Wood Green and Friern Barnet Isolation Hospital, Coppetts Road,
have worked very satisfactorily during the year. Requests for admission
were met in practically every case, the few exceptions being
adequately dealt with by admission to other Isolation Hospitals.
The facilities provided at the Finchley, Hornsey, Wood Green
and Friern Barnet Joint Isolation Hospital are excellent, and I would
like to take this opportunity of thanking the Medical Superintendent,
Dr. Montgomery, for his unfailing courtesy and skill in dealing with
Southgate patients.
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