London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Shoreditch 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch]
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20.
V. SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICE.
The Borough Council's welfare services continue to expand along the
lines indicated more fully in the annual report for 1950, both the Holiday
Home and the various Clubs being even more popular.
The number of persons attending the Holiday Home at Copthorne during
1951 were as follows:-
Adults 115
10-18 years 11
5 -10 years 25
9 months -5 years 70
Under 9 months 27
Old People 166
Conference members 30
The average attendances at the Old People's Clubs during the year are shown in the following table.
| (1) Old People's Clubs. | (2) Average number of attendances | (3) Av. weekly No. of | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon. | Tue. | Wed. | Thu. | Fri. | Sat. | Dinners | Teas | |
| Hoxton Hall M. | 12 | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | 122 |
| (2.30—4.30 p.m.) F. | 22 | - | - | - | 78 | - | ||
| Bell M. | 43 | 48 | 46 | 46 | 54 | • | 157 | 278 |
| (10.30 a.m.-4.30 p.m.) F. | 10 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 27 | - | ||
| Haggerston M. | - | - | 10 | 10 | - | - | - | 113 |
| (2.30-4 30 p.m.) F. | - | - | 43 | 55 | - | - | ||
| Moorfields M. | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 61 | |
| (10.30 a.m.-4.30 p.m.) F. | 3 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | - | ||
One further innovation took the form of the distribution of cards
lettered "S.O. S" (in 4 inch red letters) to all old age pensioners living
alone On each card the Welfare and Home Help staffs wrote the pensioner's
name, the names, addresses and phone numbers of the regular medical
practitioner, next-of-kin, nearest friend, etc. Upwards of 1,500 such cards
have been completed and distributed to the solitary. "The Hackney Gazette"
and the Borough Council's "Newsletter" co-operated in making known the meaning
of these cards in the following terms; "If you see a card in a window,
with S.O. S. printed on it in red, please go in and see if you can help,
because it means that an old age pensioner is in trouble and urgently needs
assistance. By giving this service you may save a life" The
possession of this card gives a feeling of greater security to many of these