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82 of the persons shown in the table above as being in Borough Hemes were
accommodated on behalf of other Local Authorities but a further 43 not included in
the table were accommodated in other Local Authorities Homes on behalf of the
Council making a net total of 513 persons for whom the Welfare Committee were
financially responsible as at 31st December, a net increase of 25 over the previous year.
During the year, 195 persons were placed on the waiting list for residential accommodation
and 152 were admitted including those who were admitted to Kingsmead on
behalf of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of
Merton."
My thanks are due to Dr. J. S. Finn, Consultant Geriatrician, Kingston Hospital,
and Dr. J. Andrews, Consultant Physician to the Geriatric Service, South West
Middlesex Group, West Middlesex Hospital, for their cooperation throughout the
year. In their comments on the services for the elderly in 1967 both doctors commented
on the need to provide a more frequent meals on wheels service. Dr. Andrews also
referred to the shortage of home helps.
ACCIDENTAL HYPOTHERMIA.
It is, of course, a well-known fact that hypothermia, or the condition of extreme
cold leading to a drop in body temperature can be extremely dangerous and sometimes
fatal to the elderly and very young.
Having regard to the large proportion of elderly persons in the Borough, the
arrangements whereby emergency kits were made available on a 24 hour basis for use
by medical and nursing staff, in order to ameliorate and prevent such environmental
circumstances, were continued.
The hypothermia kits consists of self-heating cans of soup, sleeping bags, blankets,
hot water bottles, thermometers, convector type oil heaters, matches and change for
electricity and gas meters. They are stored in the Hostel at 11, Rosslyn Road, Twickenham,
which is reasonably centrally placed in the Borough.
The purpose of the kits is that, in an emergency, and wherever practicable on
medical advice they are used to raise the temperature of the environs prior to possible
urgent admission of a patient to hospital for treatment.
During the year the kits were used on three occasions and proved invaluable.
The Ministry of Health sent a circular letter reminding the authority of the
dangers in winter and a further reminder of the facilities already offered by the
Borough was despatched to all family doctors.
CHIROPODY.
This service continued to expand during the year. Patients were treated mainly
in the surgeries of chiropodists. Twickenham patients had the option of attending
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