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139
Survey of the
Elderly
One of the most interesting and we hope some productive
projects which the Social Welfare Officers and their colleagues
in health visiting and district nursing will be working on during
next year, will be a survey of the living circumstances, problems
and needs of some 2,000 persons aged 75 and over residing in
the Ilford part of the Borough.
Whilst there is much statistical information available concerning
the elderly and certainly many services exist for them,
which will improve as the years pass, it was felt both in the
department and by members of the Ilford and District Geriatric
Liaison Committee, (with representatives from the General
Practitioners Hospital Medical Staff and Local Authority
Medical and Social Work Staff serving on it) that we needed to
know much more about the local situation in regard to the
elderly.
Originally the thought was to carry out a survey of everyone
over 75 years of age with a view to ascertaining such individuals
problems but it was shown that this would necessitate the
interviewing of some 10,000 people by already hard pressed
social work and nursing staff and it was decided to embark upon
a less ambitious programme in terms of numbers interviewed but
to make the study in much greater depth. Results will be invaluable
as pointers to the development of the services for the
elderly and will have put us in touch directly with 2,000 of
them. Discussions on the project started at the beginning of
the year and were led by Dr. Shaw, Deputy Medical Officer of
Health and giving invaluable support and guidance of Mrs. M.
Myers and Mrs. E. Fernando of the Greater London Council Intelligence
Unit and the Borough Treasurer's Computer staff.
Added urgency was given to the proposed survey by reports
late in the year of elderly persons being found in very distressing
conditions. It should be emphasised at this point that
whilst a survey will put us in touch with many people and produce
useful planning information, it will not avoid situations
where elderly persons are found in a collapsed condition in
which they have been for hours or in some cases days and
short of having a daily visiting service to all elderly persons
in the Borough, it is difficult to envisage how this situation
can be avoided.
In a limited survey of this sort, lines have to be drawn
somewhere and the line was drawn at the age of 75 because
the planning group considered that people of this age and over
were more frail and more vulnerable, more in need and assistance
and more 'at risk' than those elderly In the lower age
group.