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are young children who require meals and to be
put to bed. This service enables a family to
remain united and avoids the children being taken
into care. Such help was provided in sixteen
households.
Where necessary, help is also provided on
Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays.
Weekend help was provided in twenty households.
Night Help Service
Ten night helps were provided for seriously ill
persons without relatives or friends to assist them.
Neighbourly Help
At the end of the year ten neighbourly helps were
employed.
Staff Training
For some time past the need has been felt for the
provision of some form of training for home helps.
There is a relatively high turnover of staff, most
of whom are employed on a part-time basis.
A continuing series of in-service courses each
comprising two-hour classes once a week for six
consecutive weeks was organised to enable all
staff to acquire training to cope in particular with
the special problems arising in the care of the
aged, nursing mothers and children and problem
families. Each course consisted of lectures,
discussions, films and demonstrations regarding
the duties of a home help in the various domestic
circumstances she is likely to encounter.
Survey on the home help service conducted by
the Central Office of Information on behalf
of the Ministry of Health
The department was asked by the Central Office
of Information, on behalf of the Ministry of
Health, to provide statistical information on the
home help service as administered by the borough.
On the basis of the information provided, sample
areas throughout the country were chosen at
random for inclusion in a survey. The Chiswick
area of the borough was amongst those chosen
and the survey was carried out in May. Random
samples of home helps and people receiving the
service were interviewed and the assistant home
help organiser, who is based in the Chiswick area.
The questions asked covered such aspects as
the characteristics of the recipients, the reasons for
needing a home help and who recommended it,
what other work, if any, the organiser and the
home helps felt needed to be done and what other
sources of help the recipients had, the charge for
the service and how the recipients regarded it.
As a result of a decision taken by the Council
towards the end of last year, each home help with
a minimum of six months' continuous service
and a minimum of 20 hours' work each week, was
issued with a lightweight green gabardine raincoat
and a metal badge.
Prevention of Illness Care and
After-Care Section 28
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis prevention, care and after-care
services for patients living at home are provided
at the Hounslow and Ashford Chest Clinics.
During 1967 there were 81 formal notifications
of pulmonary tuberculosis and 21 formal
notifications of non-pulmonary tuberculosis
compared with 64 and 19 notifications respectively
in 1966.
The total number of cases on the register at the
end of the year was 2,258 (pulmonary—males
1,083, females 878; non-pulmonary—males 130,
females 167).
Table 13 shows an analysis of all cases notified
in 1967.
There were 11 deaths from tuberculosis in 1967.
Recuperative Holiday Homes
During the year the borough council accepted
responsibility under Section 28 of the National
Health Service Act 1946 for the maintenance of
75 persons in recuperative holiday homes. Sixty
were admitted to such homes, 9 were cancelled or
withdrawn, and 6 were waiting placement at
the end of the year.
Loan of Nursing Equipment
The British Red Cross Society continues to
operate a scheme for the loan of nursing
equipment on behalf of the Council. Charges
for this service are nominal but in certain
circumstances are abated or waived. Monies
received from loan charges enabled the British
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