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Domestic Help Service
The Council is empowered under Section 13 of the Health Services and Public Health Acts,
1968, to provide domestic assistance during emergencies such as confinements or illness, and to
assist aged persons who are unable to fend for themselves. The heaviest demand continued to be
from the latter category.
There were the equivalent of 330 full time Home Helps employed by the Council at the end
of 1970. During the period under review there was a standard charge of 50p per hour which was
reduced according to the financial circumstances of the person assisted. The service was free
to those persons in receipt of supplementary benefits.
In 1970 Home Help Service was provided to 3,836 residents, an increase of 609 over the 1965
figure. Visits were usually made two or three times weekly, it was rarely possible to provide a
daily service because of the large demand for the service in the Borough, Undoubtedly this is
one of the most important services provided for elderly persons in their homes in Newham and
further expansion is anticipated when financial stringency permits. Statistics are given in
Table L on page 54.
Home Renal Dialysis
When the Ministry of Health Circular 2/68 was published early in 1968, making it the duty
of Local Authorities to carry out conversions to houses for the installation of Renal Dialysis
Units, there were already two Units operating in Newham. The first of these had been sponsored
privately and started operating early in 1967 and the second had been installed jointly by the
Hospital and the Welfare Department becoming operational in November 1967.
The first of the conversions carried out by the Health Department. commenced in June 1968,
but owing to serious difficulties encounteredwith the structure of the building and the pressure
of the water supply, the artificial kidney could not be connected until March 1969. Subsequently
five more machines were installed in the Borough up to mid-1971 and of the total eight machines,
five were in private houses and three in specially adapted Council dwellings. Of the original
eight patients, two have died, and there are now six machines operating in the Borough. The
average cost of conversion to date was approximately £600 but this figure is not truly
representative as in one case where it was necessary to build a new first floor back addition to
house the machine, the eventual cost was much higher.
Removal of Persons in need of care and attention
The Council is empowered under the National Assistance Act, 1948, Section 47 as amended by
the National Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1951 to make application to a Court of Summary
Jurisdiction for an Order for the removal to a Hospital or Institution of any aged, infirm or
physically incapacitated person living in insanitary conditions and who is in need of care and
attention. It was found necessary to apply for two removal orders in 1965, four in 1966, six in
1967, seven in 1968, one in 1969 and three in 1970.
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