View report page

The weekly sessions have continued at the Old Peoples' Residential Homes, but owing
to staffing problems our proposed service for Roberts Hall Occupational Centre has not materialised.
Children still play an important part in our service. During the year we have only been
able to inspect one complete school; this is a start, but ideally each school should be inspected
by the Chiropodist into whose catchment area the school falls, thus stepping up the preventative
side of our service.
Hurst Road Health Centre has settled down, and is working well, co-operation with the
General Practitioners is good but very few of our patients are on the doctors' lists, as they draw
patients from well outside the catchment area of Hurst Road Clinic, but as the number of Health
Centres increase this should even itself out.
R.J.King
M.Ch.S., S.R.Ch.
J.C.O'Brien
M.Ch.S., S.R.Ch.
Home Help Service
During the year this service experienced the severest strains of any in the department.
The service has been steadily increasing as the years pass and the number of recipients has
increased faster than the number of helps. This means much heavier work for the organisers in
spreading help more widely but more thinly. A study done in 1966 showed that the number of cases
helped in the area had increased by 29% over the previous six years, while the number of hours
provided had only increased by 4%. This trend has continued. The constant adjustments and
variations to helps' duties required to cover sickness, holidays and the needs of recipients in this
situation can perhaps be imagined when one realises that each organiser has reached the position
of supplying the service to over 500 cases. That the five organisers managed to keep the service
going (covering their own holidays and sickness at the same time) is greatly to their credit as are
the 8824 visits they managed to make to homes.
Nevertheless, the effort to supervise work in over 500 homes in a wide area, at the same
time as having a great deal of office work, is formidable and the most efficient use of the helps
available becomes a forlorn hope. The strains of this situation reached a peak during the year
leading to the resignation of the Senior Organiser and it is to be hoped that the position may be
relieved if the recommendations in the forthcoming Organisation and Methods report can be implemented.
These comments are of course from the administrative viewpoint. From the recipients'
viewpoint, this remains one of the most worthwhile services we provide and most appreciated.
E.E.W.
- 25 -