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THE PREVENTIVE MEDICAL SERVICE AT THE
TEDDINGTON GERIATRIC CLINIC.
Disabilities of the Elderly,,
For three years up to 1955 I took part in a survey of elderly
people.- An account of it appeared in the British Journal of Social
Medicine in July 1955. We showed that the majority of elderly people
have something wrong; men suffer from anaemia and bronchitis; women
suffer from multiple disabilities and get frailer; both men and
women suffer very heavily from atherosclerosis, high blood pressure,
coronary thrombosis and strokes. The remarkable thing is they often
do not know there is anything wrong. They have not been to doctors.
We said there was a great need for clinics for the elderly to try
to prevent this great mass of disability. Other workers • Dr.'
Sheldon, Lord Amulree, Dr. Hobson and Dr. Pemberton, and many others
have said the same.
In September, 1955, I wrote a report for the Area Health
Committee about these matters and asked them to approve the setting
up of a preventive health clinic for the elderly The Area Committee
gave it their unanimous blessing and sent it forward. By March,1956,
the views of the Middlesex Executive Committee had beenobtained;
they were non-committal. They approved the principle; they were all
for preventive medicine; but they thought this could be done by
lectures to the old people's clubs and by health visitors in the
homes; they did not want any clinics.
Getting Approval
It so happened that in 1956 there was set up a Liaison Committee
in South-West Middlesex consisting of practitioners, consultants
and medical officers of health to discuss problems of mutual
interest. In November, 1956, this committee met. I was asked and
willingly seized this opportunity to present a report about the
need for a preventive health clinic for the elderly. After a long
discussion and many explanations, the meeting - with one exception
was fully in favour of the proposal and prepared to advise the
Executive Council that it was a worthwhile project. I was overjoyed.
In January, 1957, the County Council agreed to the setting up
of the clinic and asked the Executive Council to approve. In June,
1957, it went to the Ministry informally. In September the Minister
indicated that he would have no objection. In October formal
application was made to the Minister for consent to modify the
Proposals under section 28 of the National Health Service Act. On
the 7th February, 1958, the Minister's formal consent was received
as follows:
"Special Clinics for the Elderly The County Council will
provide for one year, as an experiment in preventive medicine,
a special clinic for the elderly at which they can be medically
examined and given general health education, particularly in
regard to diet and, if proved satisfactory, and subject to
the Minister's agreement, will provide such clinics where considered
necessary."
This was the first official consent for such a clinic to any
local authority in the country and I regarded it as a triumph. It
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