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40
Chiropody
Mr. Gibson reports as follows: —
Elderly people often have many handicaps to cope with.
Stiffness of the joints, the liability to diseases associated
with ageing, perhaps obesity, all contribute to diminished
mobility. Painful feet, added to a time like this, can well be
the cause of a final retreat to the house or the bedroom, and
this situation is one which our Chiropody Service seeks to
postpone.
What do Elderly people want? As reported in the Sunday
Times (10.12.67) a recent survey was conducted in Birmingham
when 26,383 people aged over 75 replied to the survey. They
were given an opportunity to request help from the 17 Welfare
Services, but only one in four requested any help at all and
only one in ten from more than one of the services. The total
requests were: —
Chiropody 3,350
Rent Rebates 1,343
General Advice 1,104
Home Helps 1,017
Free Buses 879
Visiting 703
Meals on Wheels 535
Extra Pensions 534
Health Visitors 523
Day Centres 338
The Service we are providing is an excellent one much
appreciated by our patients. It helps to keep the elderly mobile
and enables them to take an active part in life, social contacts,
shopping etc. It further delays the bed-ridden state in the semimobile
and the delay or avoidance of hospitalisation in the
domiciliary invalid. But there is room for considerable expansion
if we are to satisfy the increasing demand for this service.
During this year we had a total staff of 5 full-time and 6
part-time Chiropodists. We were able to provide a complete
service at Clinics, Welfare Homes and where necessary at the
patient's home.
The Hospital Car Service enables many handicapped
patients to attend the Clinics who would otherwise have to
receive treatment at home, thus allowing the house-bound to
take full advantage of the domiciliary service.
The number of school children referred to the Clinics
increased — indeed we had to resort to waiting lists. Most
children referred had Plantar Warts but many had conditions