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call at the Public Health Offices without any appointment, often
encouraged to do so by their Doctors, landlords, relatives, or by
voluntary organisations. I am deeply disturbed when they come
long distances spending upon fares money which they can ill afford
to spend or arrive when the pavements are ice covered, or during
heavy rainstorms. I would hesitate to call any interview a complete
waste of time, but interviews of this sort achieve little, they sometimes
keep me away from Committee meetings or make me late for
appointments, and the time involved could undoubtedly be far better
spent.
I received 66 requests for help and advice in finding holiday
accommodation for old persons either to enable the old person to
have a complete change, or to enable relatives who care for them
throughout the year to have a holiday without them. There is a
tendency to regard such an arrangement as a right, and to expect the
Borough Council to finance it. The following remarks have been
made to me, "They ought to send every person of pensionable age
away free for at least two weeks every year." "It is a disgrace that
they don't have Homes at the seaside for them." "I took it for granted
that you would be able to put father into a Home while we went away."
"The Doctor said I had only to ask you and you would get him into
Hospital." "Oh no, he is not ill but Hospitals are free aren't they?
and I shall know he is safe there." "Mother has paid rates all her
life. She is entitled to be looked after free of charge while we go
away." "My husband says that he will leave me if I don't get my
mother looked after while we have a holiday together."
In some instances the request was left until 10 days before
the family holiday dates and in many instances until less than 4 weeks
earlier. One Daughter who enquired one week before the holiday
remarked "we thought that if we left it until the last minute you would
have to take over." In all but a few of the cases the family holiday
booking has been made in January or February, and with the exception
of three or four cases the need for help in arranging for the old
person's care was known before that booking was made Fortunnately
for the old people themselves it was possible to arrange
something in each case. Some relatives were ready and able to pay
fees of Private Guest Homes and Nursing Homes and simply needed
advice about them and a list of addresses. Where there was any
doubt about what type of accommodation would be suitable or any
plea of financial hardship I visited the house to assess the position.
Several were subsequently referred to Dr. Dunn as unfit for
Guest Houses or seaside bearding houses and either unable to find