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Nursing, and the Superintendent Home Nurse
participated in two one-day conferences.
Marie Curie Service for Cancer Patients
The Marie Curie Memorial Foundation, which is a
voluntary organisation was established to help
patients suffering from cancer. A day and night
nursing service is provided for patients during the
terminal stages of cancer to relieve relatives who may
be under considerable strain caring for patients over
a long period. The cost of the service is met by the
Foundation although it is largely administered by the
local authority Home Nursing Service. The Foundation
also gives welfare grants to cancer sufferers in
financial difficulties.
Home Help Service • Section 29
The Home Help Service is an important element of
community care and one on which the domiciliary
health and welfare services as a whole increasingly
depend for their proper functioning.
The Borough makes no charge for the services
of a home help to persons in receipt of National
Assistance, and other applicants may appeal against
the assessed charge.
During the year the turnover of home helps
amounted to 25 per cent, and on 31st December the
equivalent of 107 whole-time staff were employed.
Persons aged 65 years and over formed more than
three-quarters of the 1,681 cases which were helped.
Of those under 65,155 suffered from chronic sickness
or were tubercular, 141 maternity cases, five mentally
disturbed and 80 others. The 1,079 cases still receiving
assistance at the end of 1965 were 60 greater than
those at the beginning of the year.
There is no doubt that with the increase in the
number of elderly and infirm the need for the home
help service will increase, and it is a matter of some
concern as to how the demand can be met in these
days of full employment.
Neighbourly Help Scheme
This is an extension of the Home Help Service
whereby it was intended that neighbours would be
paid a small amount to keep a friendly eye on old or
disabled persons living nearby. The neighbourly help
is expected to look in several times a day for short
periods to light fires, shop, prepare meals and do
household cleaning. The scheme has never developed
in this Borough and at present only three such helps
are employed.
Reasons given for the lack of response vary from
the feeling that neighbours are unwilling to accept
such regular responsibility to a theory that much
voluntary help is given without thought of financial
reward.
Whatever the strengths or weaknesses of these
services it is gratifying to record that during the year
under review it has been necessary to remove only
one old person from his home under Section 47 of
the National Assistance Act 1948.
Prevention of illness care and aftercare •
Section 28
Tuberculosis
The hospital service bears the main responsibility
for the treatment of tuberculous patients.
Facilities for prevention, care and after-care of
persons suffering from tuberculosis are provided by
the council at the Hounslow Chest Clinic. Persons
living in the western part of the borough attend the
Ashford Chest Clinic under arrangements made with
Surrey County Council, who make a charge based on
population. Similar arrangements have been made
with the London Borough of Richmond-uponThames
for their residents who attend Hounslow
Chest Clinic.
Eighty-one cases of tuberculosis were formally
notified during the year, 70 of which were respiratory.
In addition 37 cases came to the Department's notice
as new cases other than by formal notification.
Thirty-three were respiratory and four nonrespiratory.
The formal notification rate per 1,000 population
for all forms of tuberculosis was 0.39 ; for respiratory
0.34 and 0.06 for non-respiratory cases.
Nine deaths were ascribed to tuberculosis, seven
of which were in respect of the respiratory form. The
death rate for all forms of tuberculosis was 0.04 per
1,000 population.
During 1965 the health visitors visited 786 tuberculous
households tracing and following up contacts
and arranging attendances at chest clinics.
Patients requiring home nursing or surgical
dressings are attended by the home nurses.
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