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person has been examined by an ophthalmic surgeon whose certificate
includes a recommendation for treatment or re-examination, the Welfare
Department seeing that the recommendations are carried out. The
general welfare service for all blind and partially sighted persons includes
a home teaching service and provides for the giving of advice in domestic
problems, arranging for home helps, dinners, medical attention, reading,
writing letters, etc. Braille and Moon lessons are given in the homes.
When proficient readers, they become members of the National Library
for the Blind. Those who cannot learn to read Braille or Moon can
be helped by talking book machines. The home teachers give instruction
in many types of pastime. Wireless sets are supplied to blind persons by
the British Wireless for the Blind Fund.
The Aged
The problem of the aged has come to the fore both because of the
actual increase in their numbers (this is a 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 needing
them) and because of the relative increase, a factor of importance when
the ratio of consumers to producers is under consideration.
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.
During 1953 the average number of beds available for the geriatric
service was 155. Of these 18 were at the Edgware General Hospital,
51 at the Roxbourne Hospital, 40 at Oxhey Grove, 14 at the Stanmore
Cottage Hospital and 26 at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Since then a further
23 have been made available at Orme Lodge, Stanmore, and 24 at Glebe
House, Barnet. A geriatric out-patients' department and follow-up
clinic has been established at the Edgware General Hospital where
patients can be seen by appointment.
Another group is those who, while not needing the special nursing
or medical care of the first group, nevertheless require care and attention
which is not otherwise available to them. These are helped by the
Welfare Department of the County Council (Area Welfare Officer,
Kynaston Court, Harrow Weald) which arranges admissions to residential
homes.
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,