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PREFACE.
To the Chairman and Members of the
Urban District Council of Merton and Morden
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present to you my report on the health of the
district and matters relating thereto for the year 1962.
The report is one which shows that this health has been well maintained
during the year but there are some matters on which I wish to
comment in this foreword.
The Ageing Population
One cannot work in a Public Health Department without quickly
realising that the social problem which outweighs at the present time all
others is that of old people. It is a problem which every year grows greater;
more and more old people grow older and older and although medical
science has succeeded in prolonging life it has not been so successful in
ensuring a continuation of faculties. These old people have often outlived
all friends; they may or may not have children or other relatives, but too
often those live so far away as to be unable to be of much practical assistance
and one must state that, not infrequently, relatives who could lend
a helping hand have little or no interest in doing so. They regard this as a
function of the Welfare State and not as a duty of their own. It therefore
becomes increasingly necessary to provide supporting services for the aged.
Very few old people take kindly to the idea of entering any form of
institution and would continue in their old familiar home surroundings
long after it has become impossible for all supporting services to ensure
for them there even the barest minimum of decent comfort. The use of
statutory powers for their compulsory removal for care and attention is,
I am sure, not the right answer. While some do adapt themselves to new
surroundings, many are desperately unhappy, pining for what they have
lost—the feeling of independence. Their personal pride has been wounded
and the wound goes deep. It is worth every effort to build up social services
to a strength which can meet these ever growing demands. The happiness
of many will depend on it in their declining years.
It must be realised, however, that a point will be reached in many
cases where continued home life is impossible no matter what support is
given. Present institutional facilities are inadequate to meet these needs.
There are long waiting lists for beds in Geriatric Units and Welfare Homes.
It is literally a question of waiting for dead men's shoes and in the process
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