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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
In the fifteen years 1896-1910 there was an association of a relatively
high birth rate and a large population which gave a large number of
births for each of those years, something over 900,000 annually. It is
the survivors of these large numbers of babies born who are now swelling
the numbers of the elderly and will continue to do so for a number of
years. It is, of course, only a small proportion of these elderly persons
who need to be helped. Even of those needing any kind of assistance,
most can with some form of help manage in their own homes. There
is a proportion, though, who need care and attention. Of those in this
group, those who are merely frail can be distinguished from those needing
medical or nursing care and attention. The latter are the responsibility
of the hospital boards and in this district most whose needs cannot be
met at home are dealt with by the staff of the Edgware General Hospital,
where there is a Geriatric Officer (Dr. Raphael, Tel. No. Edgware 2381)
whose prime concern is for these people. The procedure is that the
patient's own doctor gets into touch with the hospital about admission.
The patients may be admitted for longer or shorter periods to beds in the
Edgware General Hospital or to such establishments as the Roxbourne
Hospital. It is the responsibility of the Welfare Department of the County
Council to look after the interests of those who, while not needing medical
or nursing care and attention, nevertheless need care and attention because
they cannot look after themselves, or have no one to look after them.
Those needing this sort of help are admitted to one of the various homes
provided by the Welfare Department of the County Council. Whichever
of these two categories an elderly person falls into, he can be helped only
by admission to an institution. The difficulty in helping them is that
neither side has sufficient beds to meet the demands. There has, it seems,
at times been a difficulty in deciding where the responsibility lies for
helping a person. The Minister of Health has carried out a survey of the
facilities available to the chronic sick, particularly the aged chronic sick
and infirm, and he has issued circular 14/57 to local health authorities
about local authority services for the chronic sick and infirm, and
circular H.M.(57)86 to hospital authorities on the geriatric services and
the care of the chronic sick. The circular to the hospital authorities sets
out the division of responsibility:—
"Responsibility for the care of the chronic sick and the elderly is
shared by a number of statutory authorities:
"(a) the hospital authorities, who are responsible for providing outpatient
and in-patient hospital and specialist services and, where
necessary, consultations with specialists in the patient's own
home;
{b) the local authorities, who, in their health capacity, provide home
nursing, domestic help, health visitors and other domiciliary
services; and in their welfare capacity, provide residential