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health education. Special attention was being given at the end of the year to the
promoting of publicity on the treatment available for venereal disease.
The health visitors continue to be active in the field of personal health education
and one health visitor gives weekly talks to children from a secondary school. Antenatal
sessions are held in association with parentcraft classes undertaken by health
visitors and midwives.
The number of talks given by various officers of the Borough during the year
was 748.
HOME HELP SERVICE
Staff as at 31st December, 1968
Home Help Organiser 1
Assistant Home Help Organisers 2
Home Helps — Whole-time 7
— Part'time 95
(Whole-time equivalent) 61.5
There was a staff turnover of 147 persons.
The order of priority of applications for the Home Help Service remain as before,
i.e.:—
1. Acute Emergency cases.
2. Domiciliary confinements and 48-hour hospital discharges.
3. The tuberculous.
4. Other cases, i.e., chronic sick, aged infirm, mentally disordered, etc.
Applicants in receipt of supplementary benefit from the Department of Health
and Social Security and those suffering from toxaemia in pregnancy receive the service
free of charge. In all other cases patients either pay the standard charge or are assessed
to pay according to their financial circumstances.
The standard charge for the service at the end of the year was 6/- per hour.
Cases given help were as follows: —
1968. 1967.
Chronic sick (under 65) 104 81
Tuberculous 6 7
Mentally disordered 7 3
Maternity 124 116
Others 79 93
Aged 65 or over 877 780
Total cases helped 1197 1080
The recruitment of Home Helps continues to be such that difficulty is still experienced
in many of the requests for assistance. There is, of course, an ever increasing
number of new cases referred to this service and each case is visited by the Home Help
Organiser or one of her assistants to assess the actual need. Approximately 45% of all
those persons visited are found to be not eligible to receive the service. During 1968,
there was a total of 1,058 new referrals and it is interesting to note that the total
number of visits made by the organising staff during the year was 4,106.
Rates of Pay.
Hourly payment is made to home helps in accordance with the Greater London
Joint Council negotiated rates of pay. Additional remuneration is given for work in
dirty homes and certain cases of infectious diseases. The rate of pay for home helps
(5/9fd. per hour) does not enhance recruitment; this in no way compares favourably
with the existing rates for similar work within the Borough.
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