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During the year over 3,000 visits were made by the deputy Medical Officer of Health
and/or Infectious Diseases Nurse in connection with infectious disease control and over one
thousand specimens were examined by the laboratories to whose directors and staff our thanks
are due for their willing help and advice; also to our colleagues in General Practice for their
prompt notification of all cases where a Public Health risk is suspected.

Old People's
Homes
RESIDENTIAL ACCOMMODATION
Although for reasons beyond our control, it was not possible to open Essex Hall, our
seventh old people's home, there were three other important developments during 1969.
Alliston became (like Heathcote Lodge) a "designated home" for those who, by reason
of great infirmity, senility and/or incontinence require so much extra care that an increased
staffing ratio must be provided. There has been much debate as to whether such cases should
be evenly distributed round ordinary homes or concentrated in this way. Opinion remains
divided but a majority view is that concentration in "designated" homes is the better answer,
great though the difficulties are. The other system means that a few mentally infirm and
socially unacceptable residents can seriously depress the quality of life for a large number of
ordinary residents if left among them. If segregated in any way within the home, this segregation
is made obvious to the residents with even more unfortunate attitudes developing than occur
where they are segregated in a separate home.
The other developments arose out of the increasing frailty of our residents due to higher
ages of admission and the publication of the report of the Williams Committee on residential
homes.
Residential care of all kinds has been going through a crisis due to a number of factors
not least of which are the long hours and heavy strains which staff are expected to bear, with
a public attitude regarding residential care as a dumping ground for those cases with which the
domiciliary services had failed to cope. The Williams Committee gave great thought to these
problems and recommended, inter alia, better staffing ratios and raising the image and efficiency
of the job by training courses leading to a Diploma.
The Council embarked on a three year programme of increasing the staff in these homes;
none too soon for crises were coming thick and fast at the time. Now things are easier after
the implementation (at the time of writing) of the second phase. The need for the third phase
is already apparent.
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