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who are blind, deaf and dumb and of other persons who are substantially
or permanently handicapped by illness, injury, congenital deformity or
other such disability as may be prescribed by the Minister of Health.
For years before the Blind Persons Act imposed special responsibilities
on major authorities for caring for the blind, voluntary effort had been
very helpful, and in fact many authorities met their obligations by seeing
that the work was continued through the agency of these organisations.
The blind were registered and helped in different ways by the efforts of
home teachers and by the setting up of workshops. There is room for
similar help being given to those handicapped in ways other than by
blindness.
For the administration of the welfare service the County is
divided into the same ten areas as for the County Council's functions
under Part III of the National Health Service Act. Acting under the
supervision of the Chief Welfare Officer for the county, there is in each
area a Welfare Officer. The one for this district is Mr. H. G. Plummer,
Kynaston Court, Boxtree Road, Harrow Weald.
The Aged
The numbers of the survivors of the large numbers of babies born
towards the end of the last century and the early years of this are creating
special problems which will increase in size in the coming years. The
elderly are, of course, that much more liable to need medical and nursing
care than those of younger ages. They then become the responsibility
of the hospital service. Special attention to this problem has been given
by the Hendon Group Hospital Management Committee who appointed
a Geriatric Officer at the Edgware General Hospital who not only has
care of a number of beds but holds a geriatric out-patients department
and follow-up clinic. There is another group of elderly persons who
are not suffering from any ailment or disability which necessitates their
having medical or nursing care and attention, but who nevertheless
cannot look after themselves. They become the responsibility of the
Welfare Department of the County Council which maintain homes for
them.
Although the numbers of the aged are increasing it is, of course,
only a small proportion of them who need the help either of the hospital
authority or of the Welfare Department. The vast majority do not need
any sort of help. Nevertheless there are many who do not fall into either
of these two groups but who need help of one sort or another. Housing
is a problem to some. A special class is those who are the sole occupants
of the houses that they have lived in with their families. To help them
to be housed in accommodation more suitable to their needs is not only
a kindness to them but is a contribution to the relief of the housing
difficulties of the district as the larger accommodation they live in becomes
available for some other family. As a housing authority the Council
has built numbers of houses specially designed for the aged. There is,
however, a very long waiting list of applicants for whatever accommodation
becomes available for letting. The Harrow Housing Society provides
accommodation for a number of elderly at Pinner House, Church
Lane, Pinner. For those occupants who become ill and need special