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Average number of cases receiving this type of help in any week :-
A. 367 patients. Receiving 2-3 hours per week.
B. 137 „ „ ' 4-9 „ „ „
C. 26 „ „ 10-30 „
D. 3 „ „ 10-40 „ „ „
E. 2 „ „ 2-6 „ „ „
Miss J. Tinch, was appointed as an Assistant Home Help Organiser to fill the
vacancy left by the appointment of Mrs. J. E. M. Roberts as Home Help Organiser.
During September Mrs. M. Yates, Assistant Home Help Organiser left to join her
husband in Germany, and Mrs. R. Norgate-Bennett was appointed to this post.
Good Neighbour Service.
A good neighbour scheme is operated to supplement the home help service thus
saving wastage of valuable home help time. Good neighbours help the aged and
chronic sick by doing daily chores such as shopping, cooking, seeing to fires or other
forms of heating and various other necessary daily duties. The good neighbours are
paid from 10/- to £2 per week according to the extent of the duties allocated by the
Home Help Organiser.
Cases receiving the Good Neighbour service are excluded from the above figures
and are set out below:-
Chronic sick (aged under 65) 6
Chronic sick over 65 84
Total cases helped 90
(Included above are 37 cases brought forward from 1966).
Night "Sitters-In" Service.
Certain patients, mainly the elderly, who are ill at home and possibly awaiting
admission to hospital do occasionally cause considerable anxiety when they are left
alone at night without a relative or friend to look after them. Relatives normally
undertake the care of their "own sick" but there are times when it is not possible to
obtain the services of a relative at short notice and some emergency arrangements are
necessary to ensure that patients receive adequate care at night.
In January 1967 the Council agreed to the provision of an emergency service to
provide assistance in the night-time care of patients who require to be cared for at
home where no relative or neighbour is immediately available. The service is also
available to relieve relatives who find themselves under considerable mental or physical
strain through caring for chronically ill patients over a long period of time.
The service is not a night nursing service but the 'sitters-in' are required to have
a commonsense outlook and capable of giving sympathetic care and attention to
patients.
The Council pay the sitters-in at the rate of 3/6d. per hour, or up to 35/- for
a night's duty of ten hours. Persons receiving the service are assessed to pay to the
Council a charge according to means subject to a maximum charge of 35/- per night
of ten hours. Persons in receipt of benefit from the Ministry of Social Security receive
the service free of charge.
Patients are referred for the sitters-in service by family doctors and nursing staff,
etc., to the Superintendent of District Nurses. In an emergency, outside office hours,
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