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freedom of action is limited to helping patients who come officially through the
Chest Clinic and who live in the Borough.
However, with the aid of the funds available and the regular grants from the
Borough Council, help has been given as generously and as wisely as possible, fuel
grants, holiday grants and Christmas parcels again forming the greater part of the
expenditure. This year 15 patients received assistance, one of these being a Richmond
resident attending a clinic outside the Borough.
If the work of the Committee is to be fully rewarding it is imperative that, in
1971 and onwards, the needy patients must be found and brought forward by the
authorities. The alternative would be to alter the Committee's terms of reference
to include some of the fringe areas where it is known that needy patients do
exist".
CARE OF THE ELDERLY.
The health and care of the elderly living at home still poses a major problem for
Health Department staff.
Elderly people are often found to be living alone without help and in unsuitable
accommodation, which fails to take account of increasing frailty with increasing age.
Many old people are living on fixed incomes which do not keep abreast with the rising
cost of living, or alternatively, they may be afraid to spend what little money they may
have out of fear that they may have to end their days in an Old People's Home.
There is, therefore, a risk of older people existing on sub-standards of nutrition
in inadequately heated living rooms and unheated bedrooms, not only with increasing
and progressive deterioration in health but with the real danger of hypothermia
developing. See page 38.
The Clinics for Older People provide a medical screening service for residents of
the Borough from 55 years of age and are much appreciated by the older people
attending Normally each person has an annual complete re-examination and are seen
at six-monthly, three-monthly or two-monthly intervals, depending on age and need.

Because of certain accommodation difficulties the Barnes Clinic for Older People
was discontinued on the 18th May, 1970, and patients transferred to the Mortlake
Clinic as from the 15th June, 1970. The number of sessions held was reduced from
one per week to one per fortnight pending a greater demand.
Day Centres have been set up by the Welfare Department for those whose needs
are social rather than medical. Day Hospitals offer therapeutic activity such as physiotherapy,
occupational therapy, speech therapy, chiropody, medical examinations and
nursing treatment but the number of places available is necessarily limited.
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