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8
Cases on the Waiting List for admission to hospital are closely
supervised by the Health Visitor specially appointed for this purpose.
She is able to report to the Geriatrician any deterioration in
the patients' condition and by close association with the Divisional
Health Office and Voluntary bodies to arrange for domicilliary
services which may be required.
Other frail old people who need assistance but not hospital
admission are on the lists of the Health Visitors and District Nurses
who are in a position, to provide the various local health authority
and voluntary services which may be available.
In this way an effort is being made to ensure that various officers
are better informed concerning the frail elderly people in this area ;
they are in a position to arrange rapidly for assistance to be provided
and the patients themselves are being made aware of the way in
which they can get assistance should they need it.
This problem is complicated by the personalities of the patients
themselves and for this reason there can be no easy solution. There
are those who won't accept the domicilliary services and many who
resolutely refuse to lose their independance and enter a Home.
Under certain circumstances such patients can be forced to enter
suitable accommodation under powers conferred on the Council by
Section 47 of the National Assistance Act 1948. Use was not made
of these powers during the year under review.
SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES.
The report of the Chief Sanitary Inspector is included in Sections
C, D and E, and reference to these indicates the large volume and
varied nature of the work carried out by the Staff of the Public
Health Department.
A full establishment of Inspectors throughout the year has allowed
all routine work to be covered in addition to a careful check on food
establishments and an adequate food sampling programme.
Since Richmond Borough Council became a Food and Drugs
Authority in 1954 this work has been undertaken by the Sanitary
Inspectors.
Reference to the table in Section E shows that 123 samples were
taken for examination and that of these, 10 were irregular. The
irregularities were all dealt with by agreement with the vendors an