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A total of 906 cases were dealt with; 325 of which concerned
persons not previously known either to myself or to the Health
Visitors. The number of persons interviewed was 308, approximately
half of which were old persons, and the remainder either relatives
or friends of old persons. Visits to persons discharged from Hospital,
principally from Chadwell Heath, numbered 100. A proportion were
already known to me prior to admission and had been visited by
me during the period immediately before admission. Some had to
wait two or three weeks for a bed and these were helped by arranging
domiciliary services, loan of sick room equipment and in some cases
the special laundry service. It is not unusual for the relatives of
persons waiting for beds to telephone or call at the office dailyoutof
a false idea that we can do more to hasten admission. In fact a great
deal of valuable time is expended in telling the same persons the
same thing over and over again.
Seventy three cases were referred to me because the family
were having difficulty in coping. Among these were a number where
the daughter or daughter-in-law caring for the old person was elderly
herself and not very fit physically. In one instance a niece aged 78
years and her husband 80 years were caring for an old lady of 96
years. These were wonderfully fit but were feeling the strain. The
old lady was admitted to Hospital while they had a holiday by the
sea, and she has since been admitted to Part 3 accommodation.
Forty-two of the old persons seen by me were referred to the
Essex County Council Welfare Department for investigation with
a view to being placed on the waiting list for Part 3 accommodation.
Of these about 20 asked me to help them to apply. A further 12
were persons who had been patients in the Geriatric Unit, and
been advised by Dr. Dunn not to continue to live alone. Some
of these would have preferred to have gone to live with offspring,
but offspring either had insufficient accommodation or did not
want such an arrangement. While it is hard for the old person to
bear deliberate rejection by his family it is I am sure harder still
to have to live in a household where one is not really wanted.
Some sons and daughters who say quite frankly that they have
no affection for their parents and who do nothing at all for them
will take them into their homes if they decided to make application
for admission to state-provided accommodation. This is because of
what neighbours or family friends may say if the old person is allowed
to enter a Hostel or Institution. This can be disastrous for the old
person, especially for one who is not able to get out to make contact
with other people. It may mean that he is spending all his time with
persons who resent his presence.