View report page

26
The Aged.
In 1901 there were in the country about half a million persons over
the age of 65; they formed about 5 per cent. of the population. In 1947
there were some 41/2 million, constituting 10 per cent. of the population.
It is anticipated that in 1967 there will be 51/2 million.
The problem of the aged has come to the fore both because of the
actual increase in their numbers (this is the factor of importance when
there is competition for available services such as hospital beds which
have not increased in the same proportion as the population) and because
of the relative increase, a factor of importance when the ratio of consumers
to producers is under consideration. Assuming the age and sex
distribution of Harrow's population to be the same as that of the country
as a whole, there are some 10,000 men and 14,000 women over the age
of 65. Most of them of course need no special help, but on such large
figures even a small percentage gives a number large enough to be a
formidable challenge.
The needs of those who require help vary. There is the hospital
group, the group of those needing permanent medical and nursing attention;
these are the responsibility of the Regional Hospital Boards. In
some hospitals much encouraging work has been done which has shown
that there is no need to allow many of these elderly chronics to remain
bedridden. By treatment, rehabilitation, mobilisation and occupational
therapy, many of those previously bedridden can be got up and many
can reach the stage of no longer being hospital patients, being capable
of transfer to welfare hostels. A number of hospitals, including the local
Edgware General Hospital, have set up special geriatric departments
with their specialist officers with their primary responsibility of seeing to
the interests of those aged who are ailing. There are in this district
hospital annexes such as the Roxbourne Hospital and the Stanmore Cottage
Hospital which are the permanent homes of some of those transferred
from the Edgware General Hospital.
Another group is of those needing not the special nursing or medical
care of the first group, but nevertheless requiring care and attention which
is not otherwise available to them. These are helped by the Welfare
Department of the County Council.
The third group is that of those old people who are living as ordinary
members of the community but who, nevertheless, are not really ordinary
members because many have their own special needs. There is no official
authority responsible for them, though many agencies, especially voluntary,
help in different ways. The homes of the aged need special consideration
from the point of view of the location of the accommodation,
its design and its furnishing and equipping. As a housing authority, the
Council has built a number of houses specially designed for the aged.
The Harrow Housing Society, Limited (the Secretary, Miss D. Walding,
2, Manor Road, Harrow; Tel. No.; Harrow 1418), provides accommodation
for a number of elderly persons at Pinner House, Church Lane,
Pinner. A number of aged are helped to obtain meals. There is a
luncheon club at the Assembly Hall, North Harrow, where old people are