London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hounslow 1965
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hounslow]
This page requires JavaScript
The demand for the Council's directly-provided service increased slightly during 1965. At the end of the year 17 weekly clinic sessions were being held compared with 14 during the earlier months and a total of 808 clinic sessions were held at which 1,060 patients made 5,560 attendances for treatment as follows—
| Category of patient | First attendances | Re-attendances | Total attendances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New cases | Old cases | |||
| Elderly persons | 317 | 737 | 4,486 | 5,540 |
| Physically handicapped | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 |
| Expectant & nursing mothers | — | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| School children | — | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Others | 1 | — | 3 | 4 |
| Totals | 320 | 740 | 4,500 | 5,560 |
The following are the details of domiciliary visits undertaken during the year under the Council's directly-provided service—
| Category of patient | First visits | Subsequent visits | Total visits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infirm persons | New cases 123 | Old cases 250 | 1,723 | 2,096 |
| Physically handicapped | 2 | 21 | 111 | 134 |
| Totals | 125 | 271 | 1,834 | 2,230 |
The arrangements whereby patients in the
Brentford and Chiswick areas are referred to privately
practising chiropodists continued during 1965, and
86 patients made 696 attendances for treatment for
which payment was made to the chiropodists by the
Council.
In addition to treatment given by chiropodists
employed direct by the Borough there is an arrangement
with the Heston and Isleworth Old People's
Welfare Committee whereby chiropodists treat elderly
patients in their own homes or at clinics provided by
the Old People's Welfare Committee. The Borough
pays the organisation a quarterly grant of £425 which
is based on demand which varies with the adequacy
of service which the Borough can provide.
The following figures show the extent of the service
provided by the Heston and Isleworth Old People's
Welfare Committee daring the year—
1. 194 domiciliary patients received atotal of 1,170
home visits.
2. 263 patients made a total of 1,503 attendances
at specially arranged sessions.
The co-operation between this voluntary
tion and the Department of Health which has been
developed over the past year has continued.
Problem Families
There is a minority of families whose standards of
home life are generally far below the accepted
minimum and whose behaviour is socially unsatisfactory.
The children of such families are likely to
suffer in their physical, mental or moral well-being
and development because of neglect. The number of
children in these families is usually high and their
living conditions are invariably dirty and sometimes
squalid. Financial insolvency is a common feature,
and due largely to causes such as the chronic ill-health
of the father, frequent changes of employment, or
alternatively poor management or irresponsible
spending by either or both parents who often have
weak or unstable personalities.
These families require support from one who is
accepted as a friend, and who is in regular and
frequent touch. The welfare of the children needs to
be safeguarded and the parents guided and influenced
in a tactful and unobtrusive way towards a better
43