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40
Personal Health Services
HOME HELP SERVICE
The number of Home Helps employed at the end of the year was 128 but as many of these were
only part-time, it was the equivalent of 81 full-time workers.
As the proportion of elderly people increases (from whom come the majority of the requests for
assistance), and the opportunities for employment outside the home become ever more varied, it is
unlikely that recruitment of home helps will ever keep pace with the demand. The main effort has,
therefore, to be directed to dealing with the really needy cases.
The standard charge for this service remained at 4s. 9d. per hour throughout the year, but all
persons unable to pay this were assessed in accordance with the Council's scale. Recipients of Supplementary
Allowances (National Assistance) are allowed a nil assessment, as are patients suffering from
toxaemia of pregnancy.
The Neighbourly Help Service, which allows for the payment of up to £2 per week to someone
undertaking household duties for a sick or elderly neighbour, continued during the year.

TUBERCULOSIS—CARE AND AFTER CARE
The catchment area of the Uxbridge Chest Clinic has never been coterminous with the area of
Hilingdon Borough, and in fact in recent years a considerable proportion of its work has been concerned
with Southall. With the completion of the new Hillingdon Hospital it was proposed that in future the
Chest Clinic should be based there, and in order to reduce the pressure of work it was decided to divide
the catchment area so that the northern part of the borough should be covered by a clinic based at
Mount Vernon Hospital. Arrangements were made to have health visitor and tuberculosis visitor
cover at both clinics.
The welfare officer returned from sick leave at the beginning of the year and resumed her attendance
at the Chest Clinic for one day a week. During the year 228 cases were dealt with and of these 121 were
tuberculous; of the non-tuberculous cases 44 were carcinoma and 63 chronic bronchitis and other
conditions. Housing problems were still very much to the fore and 20 cases of housing difficulty were
referred for investigation. The delivery of free milk was arranged to five tuberculous patients during the
year, and recommendations from the Chest Physician for five recuperative holidays were dealt with.
The National Society for Cancer Relief considered sympathetically all cases recommended to them
for assistance, and they donated a total of £377 during the year. The Patients' Aid Society was wound
up during the latter part of 1966 before the removal of the Chest Clinic to Hillingdon Hospital. From
this fund £25 was distributed to patients during the summer holiday period and the balance later in
the year to patients who had not previously received any financial help through the Clinic. A donation
of £25 from the Metropolitan Hospital Fund was distributed among 20 patients at Christmas time.